YOUR views are wanted on the fire service’s five-year reform of its services.

Essex Fire and Rescue, members of which are on strike tomorrow over budget cuts, changes to shift patterns and working conditions, launched its reforming 2020 Programme last week.

It now wants to hear residents’ views over how it can develop a range of options for reform which are service-led, community-focused, values drives and financially sustainable.

The service says incidents it has attended have fallen by more than 50 per cent between 2004 and 2014 from an average of 77 to 38 per day, as a result of a focus on fire prevention, but that demand on firefighters’ time continues to rise.

The service currently has 17 fire stations with permanent crews, five of which are crewed during the day, and 33 fire stations crewed by on-call or retained firefighters who respond to a pager when an incident occurs.

It employs 1,543 staff, including 733 wholetime firefighters, 514 retained firefighters, 34 control operators and 262 support staff.

For more information, email mailbox2020@essex-fire.gov.uk or call 01376 570814.