Joe Weir, FBU executive council member for South East England, says effects are clear.
Very rarely does a single incident neatly demonstrate the impact of cuts to public services.
But on Saturday 15 July, a fire broke out at the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton, East Sussex. This was not the first time that firefighters had been called to the hotel.
In 1998, a similarly sized fire happened in the exact same place. The contrast between the two responses could not be clearer. In 1998, 24 fire engines attended; in 2023, it was just 15.
In 1998, crews were drawn in from surrounding counties, but this year the call went out as far as London.
There is only one explanation – cuts.
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has lost nearly 140 frontline firefighters and control room staff to cuts since 2010.
As a result, East Sussex and surrounding areas were left without adequate fire cover as the fire service scrambled to deal with the blaze this year. Six days later, the fire reignited.
Firefighters worked through the night in unsafe and extreme conditions. Some did 13 hour shifts, while others were forced to urinate into buckets because of a lack of welfare facilities. There were inadequate arrangements for decontamination, putting firefighters at increased risk of exposure to cancer-causing fire contaminants.
Ministers can deny it, but the reality is clear.
There is only one explanation – cuts.
Next time someone tells you that the fire and rescue service has not been cut to the bone, just say the words: “Albion Hotel”.
