The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has today backed a new flood task force alongside demanding a statutory duty for fire and rescue services in England to attend flooding events.
For two decades, the FBU has campaigned for a statutory duty on fire and rescue services to respond to major floods.
All three devolved administrations have introduced a statutory duty, yet England relies on firefighters volunteering to attend.
The Environmental Audit Committee has repeatedly supported the FBU’s call, most recently in its October 2025 report.
The union has consistently raised the need for proper planning, training, equipment, and staffing to ensure firefighters can respond effectively to increasingly severe flooding events.
The FBU is campaigning for a statutory duty in England and to see the fire and rescue services have all the personnel, equipment and training they need to support communities to prepare for the consequences of severe flooding.
FBU General Secretary Steve Wright said:
“We have been raising these issues for two decades, and firefighters have been dealing with the consequences of major flooding for years.
“The Fire and rescue services in England must have a statutory duty to respond to major flooding, backed by the people, equipment, training and resources required to do the job properly.
“It is wrong that England remains without the statutory duty already in place across the three devolved administrations.
“Climate change means the risk of flooding will continue to grow and the Government has a responsibility to ensure the country is properly prepared, including giving fire and rescue services the capacity to respond and helping communities invest in resilience before disaster strikes.
“Firefighters will continue to respond when communities need them, but they must have the support and resources to do so.
“The task force must now deliver meaningful action as proper national resilience cannot be built on goodwill alone.”
FBU representatives have reported exceptionally high workloads, with firefighters and control room staff working under intense pressure, often with limited resources. Since 2010, the fire and rescue service in England has lost around a fifth of its firefighters.
Storm Claudia in November 2025 brought major flooding to communities including Monmouth, where South Wales Fire and Rescue Service reported 82 flood-related incidents in a single night.
Storm Bram in December placed further pressure on fire and rescue services across the country, with crews responding to flooding emergencies in areas including Devon and Cornwall, North Yorkshire and western Scotland.
