CUTS to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has “compromised” the way it responds to emergencies, a new report has said.

The admission comes in Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority’s Service Delivery Plan for 2018-2019.

In the report, the fire authority said it is facing “significant” grant cuts up to 2019/20.

The fire authority said it “reluctantly accepted” that in order to make the savings required it had to cut immediate fire cover during the night at six stations, including Eccleston.

“The six stations will be fully staffed during a 12-hour day shift, but at night crews will be at home, available to return to work within 30 minutes if required,” the report said.

“This doesn’t mean that you will wait 30 minutes for a response to an emergency, this will be provided within our standard of 10 minutes from stations that are fully staffed at night.

“We consider this to be a better option than closing fire stations, but there is no doubt that the scale of the cuts we have been required to make is now beginning to compromise the way we respond to emergency incidents.”

The cuts in the Crosby and Eccleston areas – which came into force in January – are a “step too far”, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

The concerns were put forward during a consultation on the fire authority’s updated Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) for 2017-2020.

The FBU said: “We are deeply concerned about the impact that will have, particularly in relation to Eccleston where there now remains only one fire appliance covering the areas of Eccleston, St Helens and Newton le Willows during the hours of 10pm to 8.30am.”

The union also said the fire service does not have the resources to cope with a Grenfell Tower-sized incident, which it claimed would be “catastrophic”.

“The major incidents that we have seen in the last year, namely the tragic events of Grenfell Tower and the more recent and closer to home major incident at the Echo Arena car park fire in Liverpool city centre highlight our concerns that Merseyside no longer has a Fire and Rescue Service fit for purpose,” the FBU said.

The union added that if an incident the size of Grenfell was to occur in Merseyside it does not believe that the fire and rescue service has the resources to cope – and the “effects of that could be catastrophic”.

The FBU added: “The major incident at the Echo Arena confirms our concerns and it must be noted that we didn’t have the necessary resources to deal with what was in reality an incident on a much smaller scale than Grenfell Tower.”

In its Service Delivery Plan for 2018-2019, the fire authority acknowledged the impact the two incidents had on the service.

“The tragic Grenfell Tower fire resulted in significant attention being placed on legislative fire safety,” the fire authority said.

“Our plans worked well and we delivered reassurance and legislative fire support to building owners and residents alongside partner organisations.

“The last day of 2017 saw the most significant fire that Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has had to deal with for many years at the Liverpool Echo Arena car park.

“There is no doubt that the incident stretched our resources and the outcomes will impact on Merseyside and other fire and rescue services in years to come.”