Nearly three quarters of firefighters want to see thousands more recruited to the service to ensure the UK is wildfire resilient, a new survey by the FBU has found.
Thousands of FBU members took part, laying bare the scale of the wildfire resilience crisis facing the country, with overwhelming support for more funding and national standards on PPE and equipment.
The Fire Brigades Union survey found that 98 per cent of respondents believe funding for fire services in their local brigade should be increased following this summer's wildfires.
Almost all firefighters who responded to the survey want national standards for wildfire PPE and equipment, and 84 per cent back legal requirements for proper welfare and fatigue management on scene.
But our data also reveals how poorly equipped firefighters are for the reality of prolonged wildfires.
Some 69 per cent feel significantly under-equipped, with only 8 per cent saying they feel fully equipped.
Nearly half (50 per cent) reported that welfare facilities during wildfire deployment were insufficient, with just 7 per cent saying they were fully adequate.
71 per cent fully support recruiting at least 5,000 more firefighters to the service over the coming years.
The FBU has warned that over a decade of Tory led cuts and the loss of 12,000 firefighters have stripped the service of its resilience to deal with wildfires.
Steve Wright, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said:
“Firefighters are being sent to fight wildfires without the right equipment, access to proper welfare facilities, and not enough colleagues to do the job safely.
"Almost half say their welfare facilities on scene are lacking and yet firefighters are being asked to risk their lives in some of the most dangerous conditions our emergency and uniformed services face.
"The UK Government has agreed to a wildfire summit, and we will be making the case for a national strategy, proper investment, and a commitment to recruit the thousands more firefighters this country needs.
“It is only by a joined-up approach that we can prepare adequately for the dangerous and destructive power of wildfires next summer.“
The survey had 2218 responses from FBU members which included Wholetime, RDS and those working in control rooms.
Our members in control have faced significant challenges during the wildfires and several shared their stories during the survey.
They spoke of a lack of resources to deploy pumps to fires, abusive callers, unreasonable working hours, an inability to take food breaks or use the bathroom, low morale and being told budget pressures would increase during wildfires.
Contrary to some of the messaging in the media around the prevalence of disposable BBQs causing most fires, our control members told the union about an “increase in lithium-ion incidents and increase in recycling waste fires” that they had dealt with.
One member said:
“The dread of coming into work when most of the on call stations are off the run and just one wildfire can deplete the availability for the whole county.”
