The fire and rescue service is in crisis

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Matt Wrack said:

The fire and rescue service is in crisis. Seven years of budget cuts have left the public at greater risk as there are far fewer firefighters left to respond to emergencies. We’ve seen thousands of frontline firefighter posts axed and dozens of fire stations closed with the result that it’s taking a lot longer for fire crews to arrive at emergencies.

In a fire, every second counts – it can make the difference between life and death. If the government is serious about keeping the public safe, they should use the upcoming budget as an opportunity to bring the cuts to fire and rescue services to an end and invest in the service instead.

Disasters like the fire at Grenfell Tower show how important and valued our emergency services are. MPs from all parties should support investment into the fire and rescue service in order to maintain a world class, professional service that keeps us all safe.

In 2017 there were 33,049 firefighters working in the UK according to a recent Home Office Report. This is a 22% decrease compared with ten years ago (42,385 in 2007). The cut in firefighter posts also mirrors a decline in fire prevention work,  with the number of fire safety audits declining by 14% over the last year and 36% fewer than in 2010.

The FBU has stated that it is deeply concerned about the figures and has warned that the drop in firefighter numbers was is a huge threat to public safety.

The fire and rescue service is in crisis.