The Fire Brigades Union has written to ministers in light of the flooding caused by Storm Bert, to demand a statutory duty on fire and rescue services to respond to flooding.
Devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have already implemented a duty for fire services to respond to flooding.
This duty is needed to clarify responsibilities, and to obligate the government to provide investment for sufficient numbers of firefighters, training and suitable equipment to be deployed in response to flooding emergencies.
Fire and rescue services in England still do not have this legal duty, resulting in a flood response postcode lottery across the country.
In the letter to the Home Secretary, the FBU calls on the government to make the UK more resilient to flooding by giving the fire and rescue service a statutory duty to respond to floods in England, to introduce national standards, and to deliver long term investment to increase resilience.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said:
Firefighters are the first port of call when flood waters wreak devastation and put lives at risk. Storm Bert has exposed the threat we face from the impact of the climate emergency.
For 14 years, Conservative governments refused to bring fire services in England in line with the rest of the UK by implementing a statutory duty for flood response.
Now is the moment for the Labour government to build resilience and ensure firefighters are equipped with the resources needed for increasing severe floods"
The full letter can be read here: /sites/default/files/20241125%20-%20Home%20Secretary.pdf
