SAVINGS of almost £274,000 have been made by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
The Fire Authority revised its budget in December, settling on £52.396m, but the final figure spent came to £52.095m - leaving an underspend of £273,716.
Underspends on support staff, indirect employee costs, premise costs, transport costs, and an increase in income have contributed to the saving.
Alan Atkin, vice chairman of the Fire Authority, said a number of efficiencies had been brought in as the budget was cut.
He added: "People have left the service, which we haven't expected. Seventy per cent of our budget is spent on firefighters' salaries.
"It costs about £30,000 a year to employ a firefighter, so if one leaves that we're not expecting, we're saving that.
"We also got more money from outside work which we charge for, such as fire extinguisher maintenance."
He said the savings would go into the 'general reserves' fund, which now stand at £19.7million.
