A CAMPAIGN against plans to cut Canvey’s fire service is gaining momentum as a protest petition gathered more than 1,600 signatures in just one week.

At least 200 people are also expected to pack out a public meeting this weekend to discuss Essex County Fire and Rescue Service’s cost-cutting measures, which would see the station go from full-time to retained.

Organised by the fire service, the meeting, held at noon this Saturday at Smallgains in Creek Road, will allow people to hear more about the proposals.

Earlier this week, members of campaign group Fire Cuts Kill met outside the station in Long Road to protest with placards and posters, as well as spreading the word through Facebook and delivering 5,000 leaflets across the island.

Group chairman Tracy Towse said: “It has nothing to do with politics. It is the Canvey people all standing together on this one.

“The amount of cars that went past all waving and beeping was a bit of a boost. There is a lot of support behind us. I just hope they listen.”

The group has also put up posters on a house where a woman was rescued from a fire in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Firefighters carried the woman, aged in her 30s, out of the two-storey house in First Avenue, Canvey, and resuscitated her.

Residents have previously raised concerns about how fast crews could respond to a similar incident if the station was to go retained.

Earlier this month, the Echo reported a firefighter was sacked, two firefighters have been suspended and more than 40 others are under investigation for speaking out against the cuts.

Bob Rose, spokesman for the group, said: “The firefighters are being gagged so they have got to be careful. That is why they are relying on the public to speak up.”

But Essex Fire and Rescue Service said the plans were carefully thought out.

A spokesman said: “The plans were created following thousands of modelling runs, careful consideration and with the decades of experience of the service’s senior officers, and they will in no way compromise safety.

“These decisions look at Essex as a whole and the service’s management feel this is the best way forward for the service in light of the cuts we face.

“We understand people have some concerns and have extended our public consultation.

“This group might be better served raising these issues through the consultation process rather than in the pages of the Echo.”