Firefighters Trade Union warns UK is “vulnerable to disasters”

According to the FBU, Fire and Rescue Services have been “decimated by cuts” in the past fourteen years, with one-in-five firefighter posts axed (amounting to 12,000 fewer firefighters compared to 2010).

The FBU’s Annual Conference passed a motion calling for funding, noting that Labour was elected on a manifesto which pledged to “improve resilience and preparation” for the Fire and Rescue Service.

However, central funding for English Fire and Rescue Services announced for 2025-2026 was only 1.4%, which is lower than the current rate of inflation and, again according to the FBU, amounting to another funding cut.  

Ahead of Westminster’s Spending Review this summer, the FBU is calling on the Government to commit “serious and sustained central funding” to build UK-wide resilience in the face of the increasing risks posed by climate change, the building safety crisis and an ageing population.  

The move comes as FBU members voted to accept a pay offer of 3.2%. The Trade Union’s leadership has warned that there must be more substantial pay rises in the coming years.

Putting the public in danger  

Steve Wright, general secretary of the FBU, said: “By failing to provide the investment the Fire and Rescue Service desperately needs, the Government is putting the public in danger. The UK is being left vulnerable to disasters.”  

Wright continued: “It’s the Government’s duty to identify threats to public safety and invest in the services needed to protect people from harm. Since 2010, central Government funding for the Fire and Rescue Service has been decimated. This year, funding fell below inflation again, amounting to yet another cut.”  

Further, Wright noted: “The Fire and Rescue Service is facing new challenges, with firefighters on the front line of both the climate emergency and the building safety crisis. Labour must start reversing austerity in the Fire and Rescue Service by committing to urgent funding in the upcoming summer Spending Review. That includes pay. FBU members have voted to accept a pay offer of 3.2%, but we must see bigger pay increases in the coming years.”