Firefighters in Durham could be asked to take on roles such as raising awareness of public health and attending medical emergencies as part of proposals to save money.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service is consulting with the public over the next 3 months to gather feedback on proposals to slash spending ahead of expected government cuts. 

Since 2010 the service has had to deal with a £4.9m cut in central government funding.

Colin Bage, deputy chief fire officer for the service, said: “It is important to stress that of the five proposals we are consulting on, none of them include closure of fire stations in County Durham and Darlington or a reduction in the number of fire appliances that we run. 

"The five proposals include working with partner organisations and using our current resources in different ways to make the required savings and meet the reductions in the government funding that we expect.

“We have begun this consultation early to provide a full 12 weeks of time to canvass the opinion of everyone living and working in our area.”

Original source

Chronicle Live