News

The inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed a series of failings that led to the UK being inadequately prepared to deal with the scale of the crisis While key workers including firefighters continued to keep their communities safe, the inquiry has heard that those...

Northamptonshire FBU members travelled to Westminster to meet shadow fire minister Alex Norris and explain their concerns about the county’s police, fire and crime commissioner, Stephen Mold They have been campaigning for democracy and accountability in their service, calling for Mold’s resignation...

More than a year after initial consultation on its white paper for the fire and rescue service in England, the Westminster government has published its plans. Many of the most damaging proposals have been dropped including scrapping collective bargaining and firefighters taking an “oath”. Also gone...

Fire control staff in Merseyside are to take eight consecutive days of strike action from 27 December in a dispute centred on an imposed reduction in night-time staffing numbers from the agreed level of six to five, and the introduction of a duty shift system that was never subject to negotiation...

The FBU in Scotland is consulting members on the possibility of strike action over devastating cuts as publication of the Scottish government’s budget on 19 December was awaited. Earlier, an FBU report laid bare the “firestorm” faced by the Scottish fire and rescue service (SFRS) over the past...

On Saturday 9 December, the Trades Union Congress held its first special congress since 1982. Hundreds of delegates representing TUC-affiliated unions gathered in central London to debate the movement’s response to government attacks on the right to strike. The special congress, which was chaired by...

Southern region executive council member Steve Wright was elected to the role of vice president and took up this position on 8 September Steve has been an FBU member for over 20 years, joining the service at 18. A dedicated FBU activist, he has represented members in many roles during his journey...

More than 100 West Midlands firefighters took part in the latest DECON research in October, with health testing carried out by the University of Central Lancashire. Results will be used to detect cancers and other diseases at an early stage, and to identify evidence linking occupational cancers with...

Response times for fire incidents have risen to a decade-long high in fire services across England. Home Office data for the year ending March 2023 shows a year-on-year rise in the time taken for the first fire vehicle to arrive at an incident. The average total response time to primary fires in...

Cambridgeshire firefighters organised a rally outside a meeting of the Cambridgeshire fire authority on 4 October protesting against a dangerous reduction to crews. Since 1 January this year, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has cut the number of on-call firefighters attending incidents...