The Sun-Herald has learnt that the "Brontos", capable of reaching 37 metres, will be removed from fire stations at Hornsby and St Andrews, near Liverpool, and mothballed to save money on staffing them with specialised crew.

NSW Labor's emergency services spokesman Guy Zangari has lashed the decision, which he says "doesn't make sense" when metropolitan Sydney was being transformed by high-rise apartment construction, particularly around railway stations.

"The government will save dollars but is that at the expense of community safety? There is the classic story of the fire in Bankstown – that could happen anywhere in Sydney. If the Bronto is not within distance it will put someone's life at risk," said Mr Zangari.

In 2012, a Chinese student leapt or fell to her death from the fifth floor of a burning Bankstown apartment building.

Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Greg Mullins confirmed the Brontos at Hornsby and St Andrews will be replaced with smaller trucks with a 15-metre ladder and no basket, moved from other stations.

The so-called "telesquirters" have no rescue capacity and can't match the Bronto's reach, which extends to six floors for an apartment building.

The $1 million Brontos require two specialised crew, in addition to the four crew that man a regular fire truck, and are more expensive to run and maintain.

Mr Mullins denied the decision was a cost-cutting exercise. But Mr Zangari said NSW Fire is facing a $22 million cut in this month's NSW budget.

With staffing already spread thin after four year's of "efficiency dividends", or cuts, imposed by the O'Farrell and Baird governments, the removal of the specialised fire fighting trucks was seen as a way to meet the latest budget targets.

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said: "Since 2011, all NSW government agencies have been required to make efficiencies to keep their labour expenses under control. It is a decision for the Commissioner as to how funding is allocated across the agency, including the use of assets."

Mr Zangari said fire station closures were also being considered. Two new fire stations under construction at Oran Park and Marsden Park are likely to be staffed next year by the closure of two stations.

Responding to speculation that Redfern and Neutral Bay were being considered for closure, Mr Elliot's office said: "The government is not currently considering the closure of these fire stations."

The union representing firefighters, the Fire Brigade Employees' Union, said it didn't understand why firefighters weren't exempt from the funding cuts as "frontline" staff, as nurses, police and teachers were.

Union president Darin​ Sullivan said the "efficiency" cuts have a disproportionate effect on emergency services.

"The majority of FRNSW's budget goes on firefighter wages. Whilst the Baird government has said each agency can decide how it slashes its budget, there's very little to cut apart from firefighter wages, conditions or positions – as evidenced by the routine temporary closure of fire stations up until late 2014."

Ahead of the NSW election, then emergency services minister Stuart Ayres returned 40 fulltime firefighter jobs to end its war with the union over the rolling temporary station closures caused by the refusal to pay overtime to replace sick workers.

Mr Elliott has been put on notice by the union that a return to temporary closures will reignite the firefighters' noisy industrial campaign.

Brontos are used for industrial fires and in emergency responses to storms to secure roofs. They are also stationed in the city, Parramatta, Hurstville, Manly, Glebe and Crows Nest.

Mr Mullins said: "The 'Bronto' trucks at St Andrews and Hornsby are responded with relative infrequency and are rarely utilised to their full, 37-metre capacity. Smaller fire trucks with a 15-metre ladder are more appropriate for most jobs in those areas."

Last year $523.7 million of NSW Fire's $673.5 million in revenue came from a levy on insurance and local councils, with the state government contributing only $88 million.