What’s new

Artificial intelligence has rapidly become part of everyday life. More than just clogging up social media feeds, it is reshaping the world of work for millions. The government says that “AI has the potential to radically change public services”. So what might this look like for fire and rescue? AI...

The Wales Wildfire Board are encouraging farmers and landowners to “Burn to Protect” the Welsh countryside over the coming season. This may sound counter-intuitive, but fire has been used as a land-management tool for thousands of years in highland areas across the UK. Controlled burning can...

After nine years at the Home Office, fire and rescue policy has finally been transferred back to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; a move recommended by the Grenfell Inquiry and supported by the FBU. Responsibility for fire and rescue was shifted to the Home Office under...

There is no UK-wide standard when it comes to firefighters’ working hours, meaning that each fire and rescue service can set shift patterns depending on local arrangements. This year, chief fire officers in both Gloucestershire and Mid and West Wales have targeted firefighters’ working hours. In...

The first ‘firefighting robots’ to reach UK shores are being trialled in several fire and rescue services. West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service announced that they were testing new robots in July 2023, while the service in Kent added a robot to their equipment this January. It will be sent to large...

Firefighters responded to widespread flooding across the UK caused by Storm Bert this November, performing rescues and evacuations in extreme conditions. In the aftermath, the FBU wrote to home secretary Yvette Cooper calling on the government to make the whole of the UK more resilient to flooding...

In March, London Fire Brigade introduced new equipment which allows members of the public to use their phone cameras to beam footage directly into the control room. Other features allow control room staff to request the caller’s live location, and to instigate instant messaging with live translation...

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) has recently implemented a wildfire simulator created by firefighter and FBU member Luke Butterworth. The simulator is an advance in training techniques for wildfires and other results of climate change. The simulator works by creating a 3D topographical map...

Our new column looking at developments in the jobs of firefighters Though once relatively rare in the UK, the strength and number of wildfires in recent years has increased dramatically, rising to nearly 24,000 in 2022, double the number of the previous year. Due to the large spike in grass and...