Emergency responders who work daily to protect lives understand better than anyone how to improve Oxfordshire’s fire service.

This is why Steve Wright, general secretary of the Fire Brigades’ Union, should be listened to carefully.

He has spoken against merging the Rewley Road and Kidlington fire stations into one unified site in North Oxford, as well as closing stations in Woodstock, Eynsham and Henley.

The proposed cuts to Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service could remove up to 42 firefighter roles, something Mr Wright has opposed.

In conversations with him, he has described what might happen if one of the county’s most essential services is reduced.

He is not simply an official sent from London by the union to act as a hero for local firefighters.

Mr Wright worked for more than twenty years as a firefighter in Oxford and Didcot, and he was the first to arrive when a power station partly fell ten years ago.

Steve Wright is someone whose opinions deserve consideration, and his message to Oxfordshire County Council is clear: drop the cuts.

The county council has made its argument with some justification that recruiting on-call staff is declining, affecting daytime response capabilities.

However, night-time periods see abundant resources spread across the county, if having extra firefighters and fire engines can ever be seen as undesirable.

The council says the cuts could produce yearly savings of £600,000 and that through evaluation, the fire service would be made sustainable for coming years.

Whatever sophisticated language the council uses, the basic truth remains that fire stations and firefighters are being removed.

This will have effects, regardless of whatever staffing or rota difficulties the service may encounter.

Rob MacDougall, chief fire officer for Oxfordshire County Council’s fire and rescue service, has been attempting to convince the public the plans are reasonable.

One must ask whether he is the only firefighter in Oxfordshire who thinks some colleagues should be made redundant.

Or whether politicians are using him as a shield.

Money pressures do not seem to worry the county council: in November, finance chief Dan Levy called its financial situation robust and steady compared to many other councils.

Oxfordshire’s fire and rescue team, which performs at a high standard, should in fact be enlarged. After all, a life saved has no price.