BOLTON could lose one of its six fire engines under plans to save money.

And two more engines could be removed from night cover as part of the controversial review.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is looking to cut the number of firefighters to claw back£14.79 million by 2020.

The proposals have been criticised by the Fire Brigades Union saying frontline cuts will “undoubtedly lead to lives being lost”.

One appliance will be permanently removed from Farnworth Fire Station by 2019 and from 2018 a fire engine from Farnworth “would not immediately be available during the lower demand period”.

Fire chiefs admit that the fire service will no longer be able to effectively deal with multiple and simultaneous incidents.

This includes supporting large scale emergencies such as the Boxing Day floods which affected Bolton and Bury.

Currently there are two fire engines providing cover day and night at Bolton Central, one at Bolton North, one at Horwich and two at Farnworth.

In 2018/19 Bolton Central will just operate one fire engine at night time.

The plan is to remove two fire engines in 2018/19. This would mean having 54 fire engines immediately available during high demand and 48 fire engines for the remainder of each 24 hour period.

The document adds: "Again, staffing these differently will mean that a further four fire engines located at Blackley, Farnworth, Bolton Central and Gorton would not be immediately available during the lower demand period although these stations will still have a fire engine available."

By 2019/2020 a further four engines will be removed with one being planned to be taken from Farnworth. That would mean 50 fire engines covering high demand periods, understood to be 10.30am to 10.30pm, and 46 engines for the rest of the 24 hour period.

Attendance times to incidents will increase by about 29 seconds during the day and 42 seconds by night.

The plan states: "Our ability to deal effectively with multiple and simultaneous emergency incidents effectively across Greater Manchester will be greatly affected due to fewer resources being available.

"Our ability to support large scale emergencies, as demonstrated in the Boxing Day floods, will be reduced.

"We will recall off-duty firefighters to crew reserve fire engines and specialist vehicles and also to provide capacity to deal with large scale incidents."

Gary Keary, secretary of the FBU in Greater Manchester, said: "This is terrible news for firefighters and the public alike. Nationally, response times to emergency incidents are at their slowest in 20 years. Last year, Greater Manchester saw an increase in fires, deaths and injuries - a tragic trend that continues. Now is the time to be investing in this vital service, not cutting it.

“We urge the service and local politicians to think again about these drastic frontline cuts that will undoubtedly lead to lives being lost."

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority chaired by Cllr Dave Acton will decide on whether to pass the proposals following the consultation on Thursday.

Assistant County Fire Officer Dave Keelan, who leads on emergency response at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Under the current shift system, that equates to about 285 fewer firefighters available throughout the county. This will impact on fire cover, response times and our Service as a whole.

“The Fire Brigades Union is right when it says fires and deaths from fires are rising. It is a challenging time for us and we have been talking to local people about how we move forward to meet their needs."

He added: “Clearly this is a challenging time and the changes that are proposed will impact on fire cover, response times and our Service as a whole – there is no doubt about that. I would like to reassure communities in Bolton that there are a number of fire stations across the borough and our plan is for them to remain staffed around the clock, ready to respond to emergencies and keep our communities safe.

“I would add that local people can also take steps to keep themselves safe from fire through tried and tested methods. Get a smoke alarm, test it and make sure it works. Be aware of candle safety and don’t leave cooking unattended at any time. We have lots of fire safety advice on our website and I’d encourage anyone worried to have a look and do everything they can to protect themselves which, ultimately, will help keep our resources free for when they are most needed.”

Factfile:

There are 41 fire stations.

There are four or five firefighters on some fire engines.

Many firefighters are based at a particular station but could be sent on detachment to other fire stations.

The fire service is looking to avoid compulsory redundancies.

In 2017/18 48 firefighter posts will be removed and there will be 1,203 firefighters in total.

In 2018/19 88 firefighters posts will be removed and the total number of firefighters will be 1,115.

In 2019/20 57 firefighter posts will be removing and the total number