Fire crews overstretched by cuts


Fire crews responding to floods in the north of England are overstretched and under-resourced, according to the fire brigades’ FBU union. Firefighter numbers in South Yorkshire have been cut by 27% since 2010 and have been hit by government funding cuts totalling £3.3 million. 


FBU general secretary Matt Wrack renewed his call for a statutory duty for firefighters to respond to flooding in England as there is in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Without a statutory duty, he said, “there is no guarantee of proper national funding, training or specialist equipment for crews on the ground”.

https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2019/11/08/under-resourced-crews-responding-floods-without-statutory-duty