Firefighters in England and Wales are due to strike again on the morning of Friday 3 January between 6.30am and 8.30am in the latest in series of strikes over attacks on firefighter pension rights.
The Fire Brigades Union is currently monitoring reports from the Environment Agency about the threat of flooding in parts of the South West and discussions are also underway with fire and rescue service principal managers.
Agreements have been reached which allow striking firefighters to be recalled to duty on a voluntary basis in the event of certain major incidents, normally including serious risk to public safety.
FBU General Secretary, Matt Wrack, said: “These agreements are designed for very specific circumstances and rely on the goodwill of firefighters. They should therefore not be abused.
“We will monitor the situation closely and liaise with the management of the fire and rescue services involved.
“In the event that the situation develops as predicted then we will respond in line with our major incident agreement.
“We have previously shown that where safety is significantly threatened firefighters have set aside their differences with government to put the public first.
“This should demonstrate very clearly the commitment of the FBU to public safety.”
During an earlier strike on Christmas Eve, such arrangements were invoked with the agreement of local union officials in Kent and Surrey. Striking firefighters in Kent and Surrey remained at work to deal with serious flooding incidents.
