The number of firefighters in Bristol and the surrounding area has fallen since the Grenfell Tower disaster. It is one of more than 20 areas across England to see the number of firefighters and control room staff dwindle since the tragic fire at the London tower block five years ago, which took the lives of 72 people.
There was a combined total of 726 full-time firefighters, on-call firefighters and control staff at Avon Fire and Rescue Service at the end of March 2021, the latest available Home Office figures show. That was down by 19 (2.6%) from 745 four years earlier, which was the last workforce count before the Grenfell fire on June 14 2017.
The fall was driven by the declining number of firefighter roles, while the number of control staff, who handle 999 calls, rose slightly over the period. Across England, the total stood at 36,448 at the end of March last year, 176 fewer than the 36,624 recorded in March 2017.
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However, London Fire Brigade saw the figure rise by 45, from 4,799 to 4,844.
The national drop was driven entirely by the shrinking number of full-time roles, which fell by 335 over the period. That was partially offset by an increase of 109 on-call firefighters, and 50 control staff.
This came after large cuts to fire and rescue services in the run-up to Grenfell, said the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which added that the UK had already lost more than 11,000 firefighter roles between 2010 and 2017 – nearly one in five positions.
Matt Wrack, the FBU’s general secretary, said: “Despite the worst UK domestic fire in living memory the Government is still failing to change direction, and take fire safety and the fire service seriously. It is an insult to the people who lost their lives and it is an insult to the Grenfell community. Unfortunately none of this is a surprise.
“Central government let Grenfell be turned into a fire trap and has done nothing to fix the building safety crisis that has come to light since. But nonetheless, we should not take our eye off just how heartless you have to be to see an incident like Grenfell and then continue on a path like this. They are gambling with lives.”
