Cuts

In the first video update of 2018, FBU general secretary Matt Wrack demands proper funding to build a 'Fire & Rescue Service for the 21st Century'. Saying that firefighters are 'sick and tired of below-inflation pay offers', Matt says that investment is needed not just in the Service, but also in...

Lives are being put at risk in Merseyside because it will take firefighters far longer to arrive at emergencies due to a cut in the number of hours that fire engines are crewed, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has said today. The warning comes after Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service announced that...

Public safety is being put at risk as a result of a staffing shake-up at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service which will see fewer firefighters on fire engines, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has warned. The union says there will be ‘dangerous delays’ in the time it takes for firefighters to carry...

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has welcomed mayor Andy Burnham’s decision to freeze proposed funding cuts to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service while a review is undertaken into how they would affect the preparedness of the service. In an address to firefighters at the Fire Training Centre...

New research from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has found that the number of people rescued by the West Midland Fire Service has increased by nearly a fifth in one year. Over a 1,000 people were rescued from incidents between April 2016 and March 2017 representing an 18% increase on the 12 months...

Lives will be put at risk if proposals to axe firefighter posts and downgrade fire engines are given the go-ahead across Cheshire, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has said. Plans outlined by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, currently under consideration by Cheshire Fire Authority, will see fire...

The High Court has made the decision to allow a judicial review early in 2018 into a shift pattern that sees firefighters spend 96 hours straight on duty. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU), who sought the review, wholeheartedly welcome the court’s decision. They say these long shifts, known as the...

Capability to cope with a repeat of the King’s Cross fire could potentially be severely hampered by cuts to life saving fire and rescue service resources in the capital, according to information collated by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in the run up to the 30th anniversary of the King’s Cross fire...

On the anniversary of the blaze that ripped through the historic Cathedral Yard area of Exeter last October, firefighters in the region are calling for an end to dangerous fire service cuts. The fire caused massive damage before being extinguished, and placed huge demands on the resources of the...

A Home Office report has revealed the number of firefighters employed by fire and rescue services has been reduced by nearly a quarter over the past decade. In 2017, 33,049 firefighters were working in the UK according to the report. This was a 4% decrease compared with the previous year (34,395 in...