Storm Bert, flooding and extreme weather
Firefighters urge Starmer to invest in public safety two years on from UK’s ever hottest day
Two years on from the UK’s hottest ever day, the Fire Brigades Union has issued call on the new Labour government to “urgently invest in the fire service to protect public safety”. The call comes as a yellow heat alert is issued for parts of England. Since 2010, the fire and rescue service has lost...
Wildfire simulator
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...
Pressing need for regulation
At even very low levels, chemicals of the PFAS group pose a serious threat that the UK government is slow to react to. Professor Andrew Watterson, public health researcher, University of Stirling, sets out the issues Firefighters have become increasingly familiar with and in contact with PFAS. Poly...
Scorched
This summer saw more climate records broken. Riccardo la Torre says heatwaves, wildfires and other extreme weather have serious implications for firefighters and the public Firefighters face a cost of living crisis at home and a climate crisis at work. We are seeing, more than ever, homes...
Revealed: UK ‘woefully under-prepared’ to face increasing threat of wildfires
New report uncovers absence of UK-wide strategy and planning for wildfires Cuts and under-resourcing leave fire service at risk of breaking in face of threat Fire Brigades Union demands urgent action and investment to protect lives and property A new report into UK wildfire resilience has been...
As wildfires rage….
....questions on kit, training, resources and shortages of firefighters are looming larger. Firefighters across the UK face a postcode lottery when it comes to levels of equipment and training for tackling a rapidly growing threat, writes Helen Hague The warnings from the Met Office are stark...
London July 2022: 2,496 emergency calls to control, 39 appliances off the run due to ‘insufficient staff’
Matt Wrack says the official report on a major wildfire incident is a damning indictment of the effect of cuts and failures of leadership 19 July 2022 will go down as one of the most memorable dates in the history of the London Fire Brigade (LFB). It was certainly one of the busiest days in LFB’s...
Service needs serious investment
While some parts of the UK experienced the wettest July on record, much of continental Europe experienced weeks of dangerously high temperatures, as well as tornadoes, flash floods and hailstones as big as golf balls. Our climate is becoming more chaotic and destructive. Firefighters are on the...
‘Climate crisis is here’ – but cuts impacting efforts to combat unprecedented wildfires
Firefighters battled a wildfire in late May near Cannich, south of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. Some 15 square kilometres burned in one of the largest blazes the UK has seen, with the plume of smoke visible from space. Nine fire appliances and a helicopter were deployed. Two FBU members were...
