Britain’s top trade union leader has warned Sir Keir Starmer that he will have to tackle a “dangerously underfunded” fire service as one of his first priorities on becoming prime minister.
Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), has told the Labour leader that fire and rescue services are in a state of emergency.
It comes as Starmer entering Downing Street as prime minister on 5 July is now seen as almost inevitable with Labour more than 20 points ahead in most opinion polls.
Speaking to The Independent, Mr Wrack warned that the UK is “dangerously underprepared” for responding to fires, floods and extreme weather events, and has called on Keir Starmer to rapidly invest in the fire and rescue service when he enters Number 10.
The FBU has claimed that responses to national emergencies and major incidents including wildfires, heatwaves, and flooding have been impeded by a lack of resilience over the past two years.
It comes as he unveils the Firefighters’ Manifesto which sets out the FBU’s vision for the future of the fire service. It advocates investment to address a crisis caused by a lack of resources, deregulation and cuts. Firefighters are calling on all parliamentary candidates to pledge their support for the manifesto.
Across the UK, one in five firefighter jobs have been cut since 2010 with 82 fire stations and 17 control rooms have been closed down.
Fire and rescue services frequently fail to meet their own targets for fire cover. The average response time for fire brigades to arrive at the scene has risen to a record nine minutes and 12 seconds across England. This is an increase of more than a minute in the last 10 years.
Several fire and rescue services across the UK have adopted a new policy of sending firefighters out in crews of three instead of the minimum of five firefighters needed to respond to incidents where lives are at risk.
They are often forced to wait for additional crews to arrive before tackling a serious incident, wasting crucial time needed to save lives.
The document highlights the case study of 19 July 2022, as temperatures soared, the London Fire Brigade had its busiest day since the Second World War and ran out of fire engines to respond to incidents. But 39 fire engines sat idle in fire stations because there were not enough firefighters to crew them.
It also points out that in the wake of flooding caused by Storm Babet in October 2023, a record 72 calls went unanswered or were deferred in Northamptonshire alone as resources ran out.
Mr Wrack said: “When Keir Starmer enters 10 Downing Street, the crisis in the fire and rescue service will be one of the most important things in his in-tray.
“The UK is dangerously underprepared and under-resourced when it comes to keeping communities safe from fires, floods and other disasters. To turn things around, we will need significant investment.
“Under the Tories, one in five firefighter jobs have been cut, as has 30 percent of central government funding. This has led to the worst response times in history, and a hollowing out of national resilience.
“Firefighters are regularly pushed beyond safe limits. Every day, public safety is put at risk because of a lack of resourcing.
“The incoming government must face the emergency.”
