[Guinness]

Bucking the trend here, and stressing I ain't got any evidence or figures.

IF there are fewer callouts as suggested in the piece

and, most of us are more fire safety aware than our parents

and, only 20% of us are smokers (which I believe used to be the greatest cause of house fires)

and, there are very few chip pans knocking around nowadays.

I'm not decrying the bravery or dedication of the fire service..but, since cuts in services are inevitable....

Do we really need as many firemen and engines as we once did? Is this not a sensible saving as opposed to reducing the amount of care given to someone with late stage dementia or turning off the lamps in the town centre making policing more difficult leading to a possible increase in crime?