An increased likelihood of deaths, injuries and property losses from fire is the logical outcome of fire service spending cuts, the government has been told.

The warning comes in one of the four Fire Futures reports submitted last month to ministers at the Communities and Local Government department. The comments were brought to light this week in an article in the Daily Mirror headlined: 'Lives at risk because of fire service cuts'.

The report – written by the chair of the fire service delivery models workstream and Lib-Dem member of Dorset Council Fire and Rescue Authority, David Milsted – says if the proposed grant reduction of around 30% over the next four years is applied at the same level across all 46 fire and rescue services, it will prove particularly difficult for those who have already made significant savings over the last few years.

“For many and perhaps most [fire and rescue services], these funding reductions will imperil their ability to carry out risk-based budgeting and implement their local Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs), let alone play an effective part in the National Framework.

“When all the frills have been removed, every spare ounce of fat burned off, and every possible efficiency saving identified and implemented, there will remain only real cuts to the core service and a real increase in casualties and property loss.”

The document also identifies general economic austerity, the increased risk of civil unrest, climate change, shifting demographics including an increase in the number of older people, and the possibility of an increased frequency in smaller terrorist attacks as additional pressures on fire and rescue services.

Among its recommendations, the report calls for more powers for fire authorities to raise income, and the greater integration of fire and rescue and emergency ambulance services, using shared facilities and resources. It also adds its voice to the growing clamour for a unified accreditation and registration scheme for fire risk assessors, “to create assurance and resilience in risk assessment across the whole risk reduction sector”.

Download Fire Futures: Role of the Fire and Rescue Service (Delivery Models) [pdf]