With two significant wildfire incidents breaking out within 24 hours this weekend, the Fire Brigades Union has issued a warning that UK fire services do not have the resources to keep the public safe.
In the last 24 hours, a major incident was declared at a wildfire in Holt Health, Dorset, while firefighters in Edinburgh also tackled a wildfire on Arthur’s Seat.
With temperatures predicted to rise this week, fire and rescue services are likely to face an increase in incidents, but the union says that funding cuts have left them without enough crews and resources.
Firefighters were drawn from five neighbouring services to assist Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in fighting the Holt Heath blaze, leaving the region without adequate fire cover.
Dorset and Wiltshire is now operating with under 30 of 74 fire engines available, triggering an emergency policy that means fewer appliances are mobilised initially to incidents
Neighbouring services impacted include Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, where firefighters are currently campaigning against a further £1.6 million cut to the service.
The service sent a message to firefighters in Hampshire and Isle of Wight this weekend raising the alert that only 23 of 80 fire engines were available in across the county.
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Steve Wright said:
Wildfires are intensive and dangerous incidents, requiring large numbers of firefighters and specialist equipment and resources. This weekend, we have seen firefighters in both Dorset and Edinburgh working in extremely challenging conditions to keep blazes under control.
These incidents are on the rise as a result of the climate emergency and, as the last 24 hours have shown, they are happening in areas across the UK. But after over a decade of budget cuts, with 1 in 5 firefighter posts axed, fire and rescue services do not have the resources to cope.
To protect the public, the government must provide the investment needed to address this crisis and rebuild resilience.”
FBU executive council member for the South West region Val Hampshire said:
The major incident at Holt Heath in Dorset has revealed the severity of the crisis that fire and rescue services face due to underfunding.
Firefighter crews have travelled from across the entire region to assist, leaving large areas without fire cover and thousands of residents without fire engines available to respond to calls.
Cuts mean that we have fewer firefighters available everywhere, covering larger areas in smaller crews. Meanwhile, we are seeing chief fire officers threatening to make even more cuts in services such as Hampshire and Isle of Wight.
Westminster must address this ticking time bomb and provide the funding fire and rescue services desperately need.”
