FIRE unions are furious firefighters are being withdrawn from the front-line even though the country is on a heightened state of alert due to the terrorist threat.

Chester, Ellesmere Port and Warrington Fire Stations are losing four station officers who will be re-deployed to other roles leaving sub officers to carry out their responsibilities for no extra pay.

The Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) says Chester and Warrington stations have received specialist appliances for dealing with the advent of such a terrorist incident. But rather than boost staffing levels to cover the new vehicles, personnel are being withdrawn.

In terms of every day incidents the cuts will leave fewer men staffing fire engines with implications for public and fire-fighter safety.

Cheshire Fire Brigades' Union secretary Dave Williams said: 'Chester has had the addition of an Incident Response Unit, that's gone there, but with no additional staffing. Not only that, we are now talking about reducing staffing on the shifts which makes a mockery.

'London Fire Brigade is recruiting on the back of receiving Response Units. Money's been provided but Cheshire has chosen not to designate staff to them.'

Morale is at rock bottom following last year's strikes. The dispute was settled when employers agreed a 16% rise over two years. But only half the 7% that was promised up front has so far been paid.

Under the government's modernisation proposals national standards of fire cover will be abolished with each fire chief left to determine their area's standards.

With fire deaths at an all time low Mr Williams, a leading firefighter, said there was a strong argument for saying 'if it ain't broke why fix it'.

Cheshire's modernisation programme, called the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP), is about to be published although firefighters say it is already being implemented.

The number of firefighters will be cut with the emphasis on public education about safety risks and fitting smoke alarms. But officers worry numbers will be reduced before the effects of preventative measures have taken effect.

They fear the IRMP will lead to a 999 prioritisation system with control operators expected to decide over the phone whether a call requires a response and at what level.

At the moment fire crews treat almost every call as though it could be life-threatening.

They also worry that under some circumstances the new Automatic Fire Alarm policy may only see a response to businesses and organisations if an alarm is backed up by a 999 call.

There are also plans to close county-based control rooms like the one at Winsford, where 25 people work, and move towards regional control rooms with a smaller workforce with limited local knowledge.