Health and Safety

The Fire Brigades Union has criticised the government for its lack of action on the building safety crisis, after the London Fire Brigade said that builders were able to “game the system” and avoid fire rules. The union said that the “massive” building safety crisis in the UK could be resolved if...

The FBU’s work to better understand fire contaminants, and their links to cancer and other diseases, has been a key focus of a debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The FBU’s DECON campaign, which aims to prevent and protect firefighters from the risks posed by toxic fire contaminants, was...

New FBU-produced training aiming to fight the cancer threat to firefighters from fires has been released. The training (DECON) intends to help reduce the effect of toxic substances released in fires, with actions such as showers soon after fires advised. It’s thought that firefighters’ exposure to...

The government has failed to provide details of the number of Covid deaths and disease reported by employers in the fire service, after being asked to do so in a Parliamentary Question and through an FOI to the Health and Safety Executive. This has aroused concern in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)...

Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack spoke out on the 30 th anniversary of the Gillender Street fire in Tower Hamlets, London. Two firefighters died in the fire after running out of air. Wrack has personal links to the tragedy, having worked at Kingsland fire station with one of the...

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson in opposition to his government’s forthcoming attack on firefighters. In the letter Matt explains that the union is aware “of the likelihood of a White Paper addressing issues within the fire and rescue service”, and that...