Fire chiefs have pledged to protect front line jobs and services as the brigade looks to make £300,000 of savings to balance its budget.

West Yorkshire Fire Authority faces an estimated £1.2 million of savings in 2001/2002 after having its funding restricted by the Government.

About £900,000 of the shortfall will be met by existing balances. The remainder will be bridged by a package of cuts.

But Chief Fire Officer Phil Toase has reassured firefighters and members of the public that services will not suffer.

Mr Toase told a meeting of the authority's finance committee: "Achieving those savings will not be an easy task. The message is that we won't be touching front-line services.

"This authority has always supported firefighters on the front line with provision of personal protective equipment and equipment on appliances and I am pleased to say that will continue."

Mr Toase said the savings would be met by cuts in repairs and non-essential building maintenance, a reduction in the number of senior officers attending management training courses at the Fire Service College, and an underspend on furniture and office equipment.

He told yesterday's meeting: "We need to prioritise. People who want a new desk or their office decorating will just have to wait."

The Government has reduced its funding because the brigade has cut the number of fires it goes to and the amount of hoax calls it receives. The authority will raid its balances to the tune of £900,000 a year for the next two years and £300,000 in 2002/2003 to ease the funding crisis.

But Fire Authority chairman, Councillor Lawrence Conlon, warned it could not continue making savings of that magnitude in the coming years. "It is a perverse incentive that the more successful you are the less cash you receive," he said.

Members of the committee agreed to recommend a revenue budget of £67.6 million for the coming year. A final decision on the budget will be made at the Fire Authority meeting on Friday, February 18.

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