Health and Safety

Throughout this week, there is a national firefighters’ strike in England and Wales, for three hours out of every 24. For the other 21 hours, firefighters will work normally, everywhere in the country. Everywhere, that is, except Buckinghamshire – because chief fire officer Mark Jones is refusing to...

Firefighters in Buckinghamshire will no longer be ‘locked out’ for the duration of shifts this week after the Fire Brigades Union negotiated an end to the local fire service’s policy. Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service had announced that firefighters taking part in this week’s industrial action...

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service is ‘locking out’ firefighters for entire shifts during this week’s industrial action, posing serious questions about public safety, the Fire Brigades Union has said. Buckinghamshire is the only fire service in the entire country to make the...

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has announced it will not send firefighters to attend automatic fire alarms between 8am and 6pm at premises where people do not sleep, and will reduce attendance to high-risk properties at night unless a fire has been confirmed. In response, Steve Howley, Fire...

Responding to news that Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Authority have refused to review the decision to close Carmarthen fire control room, Barrie Davies, Fire Brigades Union secretary for Mid and West Wales, said: “This could have serious consequences for public safety in our region. “Local...

Only six firefighters and two crew managers were on duty in Carlisle today as a result of government cuts according to the Fire Brigades Union, a 50% reduction since 2004. The FBU says that such a small team cannot effectively staff two fire engines and the aerial ladder platform (ALP) based at...

Responding to the publication of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report into the 2013-14 winter floods, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “Firefighters are on the front line when floods take place, yet the government is slashing fire and rescue...

The Fire Brigades Union has called on the government to immediately drop proposed unworkable changes to firefighters’ pension schemes after an academic report on firefighter fitness backed up the concerns firefighters have been raising for three years. The majority of brigades measure firefighter...