Fire Service needs to be 'transformed', review finds Sir Ken's ideas for the future include a single service for England, echoing Scotland's system. Fire and rescue authorities also have high levels of capital reserves, he found. Between 2008 and 2012 total reserves held by stand-alone fire and rescue authorities increased from just over £200 million to more than £400 million - and the report said this highlights the potential for investing in spend-to-save type projects. . Sir Ken said: "As a firefighter for over 40 years I know the Fire and Rescue Service in and out. I know firefighters care deeply about public safety and do the best possible job. I've seen their capacity to adapt, even in the most trying of circumstances, but my report highlights that there is much more that can be done by the service leaders to make the service as effective and efficient as possible. Sir Ken insisted the matter was a "good news story." Dave Green of the Fire Brigades Union warned that lives could be lost and reducing the numbers of firefighters would be "completely wrong." He said the reduction in callouts was due to the preventative work of the fire service, but any cuts could mean this work was diminished. "Response times will increase and the public will be at risk - at greater risk - and the blunt fact is that lives could be lost," he told the ITV's Daybreak programme. In the last three years 3,500 firefighters have disappeared, they're no longer there. The fact is that these cuts have been happening without any due regard for public safety. Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said the review was "just a fig leaf for slashing our fire and rescue service to bits" and said David Cameron's promise to protect front line services had been "exposed as a lie" by the cuts that the service had already seen. Fire stations are being closed and fire engines are being axed. Last year alone a further 1,200 firefighter jobs were cut," he said. All these cuts mean a poorer service for the public. They mean waiting longer for a fire engine if you have a fire or other emergency. Ken Knight is attempting to bury all these facts in order to justify further cuts in the Government's forthcoming spending review.