A DECISION on whether a third of Lancashire's fire engines should be taken off the road has been postponed for two years.

Other proposals that could have resulted in firefighters charging for everyday calls for help, such as rescuing cats from trees or cutting off wedding rings, were scrapped.

But agencies and organisations will be charged for helping to move obese people.

And people who need to be rescued as a result of 'horseplay' - such as being chained to a lamppost on a Stag party - will also be charged.

At the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority meeting yesterday, fire chiefs said there would be no immediate reduction in the county's 60 engines.

As part of the authority's integrated risk management programme (IRMP) launched earlier this year, a consultation process was started to look at the level of cover required in the county.

Fire brigade consultants Active Solutions Europe had undertaken computer modelling exercises which showed that the service could manage with 38 appliances, out of a current roll of 60, and still meet emergency response targets.

But assistant chief officer of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Peter O'Brien, told committee members that any decision on the county's fire cover would not be made until at least 2009.

He said: "There never has been any specific proposals regarding fire engines in the county, it was about considering the options.

"As part of the emergency cover review that will start in 2009 we will factor in what we have learnt from this process."

Mr O'Brien said there was a need for further consultation regarding any potential cuts to fire cover in the county.

Other proposals such the policy on dogs wedged in foxholes and overweight people who need to be lifted were also reviewed as part of a IRMP consultation exercise.

However, the committee voted through proposals not to introduce a charge for help in retrieving trapped animals or ones in immediate danger.

On the matter of charging overweight people if they required help in being lifted from their property, it was decided that a charge would be levied against the requesting agency or organisation rather than an individual member of the public.