FIRE chiefs insist £5m of cuts to be made to the fire service will not put people at risk despite an "inevitable" reduction in engines and staff.
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service has put forward 26 proposals to make savings.
Proposals include removing a fire engine from stations, replacing full time crews with retained officers or reducing crews from five to four.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Dene Sanders said: "It is inevitable the number of fire engines and staff will change as a result of the funding cuts but we have come up with a plan to maintain the level of standards people currently enjoy for the foreseeable future.
"The £5m cuts we made last time round didn't affect standards. Our response standards are high and it is our firm belief these have to be maintained.
"The options have been formulated with this in mind."
The service revealed the plans during a presentation yesterday which will be put out as part of an engagement process at the start of June before a formal consultation process begins.
In each geographical area, only one proposal can be implemented and Mr Sanders insists job losses are unlikely although the number of posts will be reduced.
He said: "Compulsory redundancies would be an absolute last resort. We have started the process early to allow staff who can retire to exit and bring in the efficiencies behind that.
"We don't want anyone to lose their jobs but posts will be reduced."
Mr Sanders has not given up hope that the Government may change its mind.
He said: "The Government is being lobbied constantly by the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) and the Chief Fire Officers' Association but, at the moment, we are not seeing any change."
The public are being urged to have their say.
Mr Sanders said: "We are not at the consultation stage at the moment. We are simply engaging with staff, community groups and stakeholders.
"We accept this is a very complex picture but this is due to the diverse nature of the area we cover.
"There is a lot of slicing and dicing but we want to provide all the options."
Chairman of the FBU Rob Vaux believes the cuts will lead to public safety concerns.
He said: "We have already seen a reduction in 220 firefighters over the past few years.
"We need to keep attendance times down and these cuts will make that very difficult.
"They will increase the risk to the local community.
"This isn't about protecting the jobs of firefighters but about the risk to the communities in which we live.
"These are savage cutbacks leading to the potential removal of engines or staff."
Despite his concerns, Mr Vaux has ruled out any strike action at this stage.
He said: "It is not necessary for industrial action. The best thing is for the public to get involved and put pressure on the Government.
"Normally, the public wouldn't get involved in this but I can't stress how important it is for them to have their say."
The maximum savings for the proposals only adds up to £4m, which means further savings will need to be made from support services and community safety.
The engagement process will last for eight weeks before the information collected will be put before a special Fire Authority meeting in September.
At the meeting, members will decide on what options to take forward for formal consultation starts.
None of the cuts will be implemented before April next year.
