A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service consultation gives the public three options on which to have their say,and one involves closing on-call fire stations in Abersoch, Beaumaris, Llanberis, Conwy and Cerrigydrudion.
Catrin Wager, Plaid Cymru candidate for Bangor Aberconwy, said: “If the fire authority choose option 3, 74 fire fighters would be lost, including 36 fewer whole time firefighters, and 38 fewer on-call firefighters.
“Our firefighters deserve better. It’s a role that many of us would find terrifying.
“Their willingness to put their lives on the line to save ours is something we are all deeply grateful for.
“They are there for in our hour of need – from road traffic accidents, domestic and industrial/agricultural fires, to rescuing people from floods. Now we need to be there for them.”
Cllr Gwennol Ellis, who represents Cerrigydrudion, said: “In a rural community like Uwch Aled, having a local fire station is essential.
“There are many isolated farms and dwellings, which can be hard to find without local knowledge. That knowledge of the area the local crews have can mean the difference between keeping a fire contained or facing significant damage; and fundamentally could mean the difference between life and death.
“Our local fire crew are part of the community, they know the area and the residents.
“They work hard and are willing to put their lives on the line to save ours. We are so grateful to them for that, and we would not want to loose them.
“People feel strongly that our local fire station needs to be saved not only for our own community but for the surrounding rural areas which our station also covers. The North Wales Fire and Rescue Service held the first of their consultation evenings in Cerrigydrudion, and the room was packed, showing the level of interest there is locally, and over 120 people signed our petition at the show.”
Catrin Wager added: “We will continue to fight to save Cerrigydrudion fire station, and the other four who are facing closure. We cannot lose 74 fire fighters, and we ask that anyone who feels the same sign our online petition.”
The petition, live until 20 September, can be found at https://bangoraberconwy.partyof.wales/achub_ein_gorsafoedd_tan.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service says it wants to speed up response times, and improve emergency cover in Dolgellau and Porthmadog, but funding these could lead to some firefighters losing their jobs and the closure of five fire stations across north Wales.
The public consultation is open until Friday, 22 September.
The plans will go out for consultation at the end of the week and a decision will be made in October.