An outgoing fire chief has warned £1.7 million in proposed cuts are untenable decisions – but things are going to get worse if the Government does not give the service more money.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer Neil Odin has warned the cuts, which would see a total of 24 job losses and £1.7m in cuts in a year, is “doable, but it is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to challenging times for the future”.

The decision to make the cuts was delayed at a meeting last week to allow time to try to find the additional funding.

“Having looked at the government plans for funding of the fire service it means things are going to get a lot worse,” Mr Odin, who will leave the top job later this month, said at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Authority meeting on August 29. 

“This year is about making do, but over the coming years it’s going to be a lot harder. We hope MPs will step in and make funding available.” 

The committee wanted “reassurances” from the Chief Fire Officer that these operational cuts had to be made, and money couldn’t be found.  

The panel will now lobby Hampshire’s MPs and the Fire Minister, Alex Norris MP, for additional funding.

Mr Odin said the service has turned over every stone to find more money to protect the public, adding that the cuts are untenable decisions to make to balance protecting firefighters against dangerous contamination versus how the number of firefighters on the frontline are maintained.

He said: “The number of fire engines is no less it’s just how we resource those fire engines.” 

Some of the recommended cuts, according to a report, include combining firefighting vehicles and investing in more modern fire engines which can carry more equipment and needs fewer firefighters.

Meanwhile, redundancies will lead to 16 wholetime firefighter redundancies and savings of £927,000 over the next two years.

The report said implementing a new structure and reducing a further eight middle manager firefighter jobs will save a further £778,000.

In addition, a pilot removing four-on-call appliances will save £126,000 over the same period.

Money to fund the fire service comes from council tax and government grants. 

Councillor Roger Price, from Hampshire County Council, said the fire service has been put into a situation “it did not expect” by having to pay 50 percent National Insurance contribution for employees.

The government failed to make good on their promise to pay 100 percent of the new tax as they do for the police service, he added. 

Cllr Price said a lot is expected of the fire service, saying that in 2014 “rescue” was added to what needed to be done without any more funding. 

Neil Odin said the budget approved in February this year needed to be balanced.

To find the savings, he said his team has looked at how the organisation can be reshaped, looking at the frontline, support staff and through redundancies while protecting the frontline as best it can.

After the meeting Mark Chapman, Fire Brigades Union regional secretary for the Southern Region, said: “It’s time for MPs in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to step up and push central government to plug the gap. 

“After 15 years of austerity, this fire and rescue service is on its knees. This government must deliver the positive change it has promised.” 

Before the meeting, Jamie Kelly, Fire Brigades Union brigade secretary for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said the job cuts will affect two fire stations, one in Cosham and Redbridge in Southampton. 

He said: “These cuts will put communities at risk. Safety in the community is our main concern.”