This summer, our fire and rescue service was forced beyond breaking point. After 15 years of cuts and a loss of 12,000 firefighters, Britain has lost much of its resilience to deal with wildfires.
Many brigades still don't have the right PPE, training or equipment to deal with the scale and duration of these wildfires.
Imagine fighting a wildfire for over 10 hours under a blazing sun, with ground temperatures over 100°C, while wearing a heavy padded structural firefighting jacket. That's the reality for many firefighters.
Control staff too have had to pick and choose which incidents they send resources to, because there simply are not enough firefighters and appliances.
The FBU is making 10 demands that will ensure the UK is better prepared for the challenges ahead
- 5000 more firefighters as a minimum to begin to reverse over 15 years of cuts
- Every firefighter must be provided with specialist, lightweight, wildfire PPE
- Specialist resources needed to respond safely and effectively to wildfires
- Nationally recognised wildfire training and competency standards for all firefighters
- Suitable welfare facilities
- A UK-wide wildfire strategy
- Nationally coordinated aerial firefighting capability must complement, not replace firefighters
- Increased investment to restore resilience, and ensure safe crewing levels
- Better land management, stronger public awareness campaigns, and long-term prevention measures
- A consistent definition of what a wildfire is and an end to the "postcode lottery"
Have your say
We have launched a Wildfires Survey for all members. It is vital that we receive a strong response from the survey and hear firsthand from members about their experiences dealing with wildfire incidents.
If you’re a firefighter who has not received the survey link, please contact your brigade secretary.
Make sure you have your say in shaping how a UK-wide wildfire strategy should look like.
