Health and Safety

The cost of removing dangerous flammable must not fall onto building residents, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has said. The government must fund residents’ removal costs until those responsible can be held accountable. Nearly two years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, the same flammable cladding...

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has branded proposed further cuts to Surrey fire and rescue service as “incomprehensible”, just months after a government inspection voiced “serious concerns” about the county’s fire and rescue service. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has experienced brutal cuts, with...

Several studies show that public authorities and employers are falling short on their responsibility to sufficiently protect firefighters from the risk of exposure to carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxics (CMRs). This means that firefighters are doubly at risk – not only from the nature of their...

Matt Wrack, general secretary commented: “We welcome the regular inspection of fire and rescue services as part of the work of HMICFRS. It is absolutely right that fire and rescue services are held to high standards. “The report findings are the stark reality of austerity– services are overstretched...

At an emergency meeting, members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) East Sussex Committee, unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in the senior leadership team of East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (ESFRS). East Sussex FBU members working on the frontline, have continually raised concerns over...

The public must show extra caution with fireworks and bonfires after the loss of 500 firefighters in England in the last year has left services struggling, their union said. In a safety warning issued ahead of bonfire night, the Fire Brigades Union said the loss of professionals and services means...

The government’s announcement of a partial ban on the future use of some flammable cladding does not go far enough, according to the Fire Brigades Union. Matt Wrack FBU general secretary said: “This is not the outright ban on combustible cladding that firefighters have been calling for. The...

Firefighters dealt with more incidents, more fires and saw more fire deaths last year than for most of the last decade in England, yet the Westminster government continues to starve fire authorities of the central funding necessary to keep the public safe. Fire deaths in England increased sharply...