DECON campaign: firefighters’ exposure to fire contaminants at Grenfell Tower
Firefighters exposed to toxic smoke at Grenfell Tower fire suffering debilitating health effects, research finds
New research has found that 136 firefighters who were exposed to toxic smoke at Grenfell are now suffering from long term health disorders 1 in 4 Grenfell firefighters surveyed have reported life changing health effects since, including 66 cases of digestive diseases, 64 respiratory diseases, 22...
FBU hosts European firefighters’ network
Firefighters from across Europe met in London for the annual European Federation of Public Services Union (EPSU) Firefighters’ Network on 2 and 3 December. The event took place in TUC Congress house. Delegates discussed issues affecting their fire services and agreed a working plan for the network...
FBU urges faster action on "disgraceful" cladding crisis
The government has today announced a plan for the removal of unsafe cladding. It comes as the House of Commons debates Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Under the plan, all 18m+ buildings must have been remediated by 2029, and all 11m+ buildings must have a date for remediation. Matt Wrack...
Time to deliver
On Tuesday 8 October, with the new government barely 100 days old, around 1,000 firefighters gathered in central London for a national rally and lobby of parliament. It was a serious show of strength and dedication from FBU members. Our headline for the day was “rebuild our fire service”. This can...
Dagenham: ‘It felt like it was raining fire’
Barrie Clement reports on another cladding blaze that could have ended in tragedy The call came through at 2.44am. Darren Placid, sub-officer at Romford fire station in east London, thought it sounded fairly routine. There was a fire outside a high rise building in nearby Dagenham. There was a...
Grief, anger and vindication
The final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report blamed government and construction firms. Matt Wrack commends the public inquiry for finding systemic failures and says ministers must go further After seven long years the Grenfell Tower public inquiry finally published its report, blaming the fire on the...
National Audit Office report on dangerous cladding confirms worst fears
The National Audit Office published its report, Dangerous cladding: the government’s remediation portfolio today, 4 November. The report shows that the cladding crisis is worse than expected, with more homes and other buildings still clad with flammable materials. Remediation is slow and might take...
