A GOVERNMENT drive to cut house fire deaths could put firefighters' jobs at risk.

Under current rules, as crews aim to hit lower blaze death targets, the cash they receive to do the job is reduced.

Now fire chiefs in County Durham and Darlington are calling on the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, to review the situation. Mr Straw will be told it is unfair to penalise the fire service for trying to follow government directives.

Coun Gordon Tennant, chairman of the combined fire authority for County Durham and Darlington, told members who met in Darlington on Tuesday: "If we win by reducing the number of fires, we lose out financially. The government must get the message that it is not fair to penalise the fire service in this way."

Authority members are taking action after hearing how successful local fire safety campaigns were having a "perverse" impact on funding.

Each year a standard spending assessment is made for every fire authority using calculations based on the coastline covered, current population and incidents attended during the past year. Funding is then granted in accordance with the figures.

As the first two calculations are unlikely to change greatly, the latter is the one causing alarm bells to ring.

Fire chiefs claim new government targets to reduce fire deaths by a quarter over the next four years will impact greatly on future funding.

Fire authority members agree. This week they will write to the Home Secretary urging a review of the situation.

Across the region statistics prove that community safety education is working to reduce deaths and hoax calls. But the knock-on effect could end up being a financial disaster for brigades.

County Durham and Darlington chief fire officer, Mr George Herbert, who took over the post in March, told the D&S Times of his worries.

"At the moment the more fires you get to the more funding you get. Our prime role in the service is to protect life first and then property but we are also 100pc committed to community safety education.

"The fire safety initiative makes people safer but clearly a reduction in fires affects the standard spending assessment and vital funding. The two are in direct opposition to each other."

He added: "I don't believe firefighters' jobs are at risk but I do believe that their roles will change if the situation continues.

"The issue is currently subject to a government Green Paper and we hope the kind of representation heard at this week's fire authority meeting will make the government change this perverse incentive.