THE morale of firefighters in Halesowen and Sandwell has hit rock bottom over growing allegations that disclipinaries are being used to bring in cuts through the back door.

The latest crisis comes as the West Midlands Fire Service is about to reveal how it will save £30m with crews at Oldbury, Cradley Heath and Halesowen under threat.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the News has discovered in the last two years there have been 57 disciplinary investigations into the conduct of firefighters and support staff.

However, from all these investigations only five employees were dismissed, due in part to the Fire Brigade Union’s stiff defence of members.

Chris Downes from the FBU said: “The amount of disciplinaries there are in this fire service is disgusting and the FBU seems to be working round the clock to ensure our members are kept from being sacked to save money.

“Managers seem to come up with new edicts everyday so firefighters are left not knowing what they can and can’t do each day.”

He added: “The problem is these pretty HR types have no idea what it is like to be a firefighter and we have managers who can not manage so they try and get people sacked instead of talking to them.”

And the spectre of wide-scale cuts to personnel, equipment and fire stations is also worrying the FBU.

Chris Downes added: “These cuts will mean both the public and firefighters, who let’s not forget put their lives on the line for the community, will be less safe because of cash savngs.”

The fire service has denied trying to use disciplinary procedures to sack firefighters to save cash.

Director of human resources David Johnson said: “West Midlands Fire Service has a duty to maintain the highest professional standards in its service to the community.   “There are policies and procedures in place across the brigade in order to fulfil that duty and they are consulted upon with all of the representative bodies including the Fire Brigades Union.  “We act in accordance with these policies and procedures and therefore it is wrong to suggest that on rare occasions when dismissals do occur, they are carried out in a way that is incompatible with such procedures.”