The mayor should rethink proposals which will see Southwark lose a third of its firefighters

Councils have borne the brunt of government funding cuts and have had to make painful decisions about where savings can be made or whether residents can stomach an increase in council tax.

In Southwark, we have frozen council tax for the last five years as we know local people are already struggling. Like many councils, what we prioritise over any financial savings is the safety of our residents, particularly the most vulnerable. Our fear, and that of our residents, is that the cuts to fire services in London put this in jeopardy.

This is why we have launched a petition asking the mayor to rethink the planned changes which will see Southwark lose a third of its firefighters, Southwark fire station, and a pump at Peckham.

One of the worst fires in recent history in which six people lost their lives in the Lakanal tower block in Camberwell has had a huge impact on the area.

As a council, we have made vast changes to the way we make our buildings safe in the wake of this tragedy. But we can only do so much and proper fire cover is vital.

The problem with the London fire and emergency planning authority's proposed cuts is that they don't take into account the differences between areas. Some parts of London may have seen a fall in fire numbers, but for inner London boroughs like ours it's a very different story. There were 26 fire-related deaths in Southwark in the last five years which is the highest rate in London, and in 2011-12 alone there were 1,215 fires recorded in Southwark – 48% higher than the London average.

Government plans also ignore the fact that inner London has far more complex high-rise blocks, which pose more challenges for firefighting and need more fire engines than a detached two-storey house.

This is not just an issue for London. Around the country all public services are facing drastic and unprecedented cuts, and other fire authorities may well, if they haven't already, look for similar levels of savings with similar consequences.

Councils often find ourselves stepping in to plug gaps caused elsewhere. In Southwark, where gaps have appeared following police cuts, we've used limited pots of savings to support the Met in funding police and victim support contact points. We know how valued this face-to-face contact is for victims of crime locally.

Clearly council officers aren't going to start fighting fires, but the London fire brigade does much more than put out fires, and it will do less if fewer people are there to do it.

If the excellent preventative work done by London fire brigade tails off, it will leave many of our most vulnerable residents in care homes, hostels and complex blocks unprepared for fire.

Cuts to our budget in 2010 onwards could have been met by us closing libraries and leisure centres – some of the most visible and valued services a council offers.

But we reassessed those options and looked for alternatives. The London fire brigade's current proposals are a visible but unnecessary way of balancing budgets. These are the wrong cuts, implemented in the wrong way and at the wrong time. It's time to think again; to innovate; and to reassure London that you genuinely care about fire safety.

Peter John is leader of Southwark council.

• What do you think? Email sarah.marsh@guardian.co.uk if you want to contribute an article to this debate.

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