CAMPAIGNERS are vowing to fight new proposals that would see Wrexham lose a fire engine. 

People are gearing up to fight once again to retain Wrexham's second whole-time fire engine as the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority released plans on major cuts to the service in north-east Wales. 

In addition to the engine cuts, a number of jobs are at risk across north Wales as part of the shake-up plans. 

The controversial plans to remove a fire engine from Wrexham, which were shelved in 2017, have resurfaced, leading to campaigners vowing to fight the plans. 

The consultation, which will start on Friday, will see three options put before residents. Options two and three would mean getting rid of Wrexham's second whole-time fire engine and the loss of half the firefighters in the town. 

Councillor Becca Martin, who represents Acton and Maesydre for Plaid Cymru, said: "Back in 2016-7, a similar cut was proposed for Wrexham's second whole-time pump and that was defeated by a huge public campaign where we lobbied the fire service, picketed, knocked doors and got thousands to sign a petition.

"Plaid Cymru organised a 700-strong march through town along with the Fire Brigades Union. The people of Wrexham stood with their firefighters back then and I'm sure they'll do it again this time.

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"Wrexham currently has 52 firefighters - two of the three options being proposed here would see that cut to just 28. It would mean that the entire area would be dependent on just one full-time fire engine being available and another crewed by retained staff, who are called in when needed. Unfortunately, maintaining retained crews is becoming more difficult across the fire service due to changes in employment and that second pump is often unavailable. 

"That is recognised in the consultation because of problems in staffing retained stations in Gwynedd. In that case, the fire authority is proposing to move to full-time crews to ensure better response times and cover. That seems sensible but what doesn't work is slashing the cover for Wrexham and surrounding areas.

"This is an area with a large industrial estate, Europe's second largest prison, areas of high deprivation and vulnerable people as well as high-rise buildings that need specialist equipment to reach them in an emergency. From speaking to firefighters with experience in these matters, having just one whole-time pump would limit the ability of the fire service locally to respond promptly and effectively to specialist emergencies involving chemicals, road accidents or multiple incidents." 

Ms Martin encouraged residents to make their feelings known when the consultation goes live on Friday and revealed a petition will be launched for people to show their support. 

She added: "Plaid Cymru in Wrexham is launching a new petition to let the Fire Authority know that halving the whole-time provision in Wrexham, the North's capital, is not acceptable to people. We value our fire service and want to see it properly funded so it can deal with the new challenges that it faces in terms of more wildfires, more floods and ensuring it continues the good preventative works that means not one person has died in a house fire in the past year."