A group of FBU members hold flags outside Gloucestershire county council building

Up to standard

The cover story of this edition of Firefighter will be familiar to many FBU members. In many areas, it is no longer guaranteed that there will be enough firefighters on a fire engine to safely tackle an incident. As we report in this issue, firefighters attending incidents as part of a crew of four...

Firefighter April May 2025

Firefighter April May front cover featuring a firefighter climbing a ladder
Firefighter magazine reports on fire services sending firefighters out in crews of three: a dangerous policy being trialled in several regions. This feature spotlights cases where under-crewing has put firefighters in a terrible position, forced to choose between waiting for back up at a house fire...

Firefighter magazine

Firefighters Memorial Day – Sunday 4th May 2025

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Dear Brother/Sister Firefighters Memorial Day – Sunday 4th May 2025 Firefighters Memorial Day is on Sunday 4th May. It is an international day of remembrance for all firefighters and fire and rescue...

Covid-19 public inquiry – Every Story Matters

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Dear Brother/Sister, Covid-19 public inquiry – Every Story Matters The Covid-19 public inquiry is reaching a critical stage gathering evidence of how the pandemic affected key workers, such as...
A scientist in lab coat tests samples in a lab

Call for firefighter health monitoring

Steve Wright, FBU general secretary, has written to the department of health and the home office calling for urgent health checks for firefighters following the latest research into the impact of exposure to fire contaminants. In January, the University of Central Lancashire found that 136 of the...
Steve Wright standing in front of a fire engine at Kingston fire station

Meet the general secretary

Steve Wright, the union’s newly elected general secretary, sat down with Francis Beckett to discuss his fire service background, politics, and what’s next Last year Steve Wright’s son became a third generation operational firefighter. “For all my early life we lived in the shadow of a fire station...

FBU Mental Health Project – survey launch

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Dear Brother/Sister, FBU Mental Health Project – survey launch The FBU’s research project with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) looking into mental health in the fire and rescue service is...
FBU members gathering with signs at meeting against shift changes

70 firefighters rally against shift pattern changes in Gloucestershire

By Alice Dann
Firefighters from across Gloucestershire have gathered at a mass meeting in opposition to the county council forcing through “unjustifiable” changes to their working hours. 70 firefighters attended a meeting called by the Fire Brigades Union at Gloucester North fire station yesterday, voting to...
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