Firefighters need more resources to cope with global heating.

Alistair Ulke wrote an important article about the urgent need for firefighters to have more resources (Star Jan 16th). Fatalities are rising as the cuts imposed by the Government continue to bite. 

We must support the Fire Brigades Union campaign as we will need their services more in the future. 

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said: 

“When floods threaten people’s homes, lives and livelihoods, it’s firefighters who step in to protect communities. Storm Henk follows a winter of storm after devastating storm – and more is to come. It’s high time that the government woke up to the realities of the climate emergency.  

Shockingly, fire and rescue services in England still don’t have a statutory duty to plan and respond to floods. Instead, we have had more than a decade of cuts, with one in five firefighter jobs lost since 2010. The Westminster government must adequately fund the fire service for flood response so that firefighters have the resources they need to keep the public safe.” 

According to the Met Office Flooding is more likely than it used to be. Heavy rains are becoming more common. The amount of rain from extremely wet days has increased by 17%.

Wildfires are also increasing. Since 2012 wildfires have been included in the national risk register of events which public bodies and businesses should be preparing for. Statistics from The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) show there were 151 large wildfires of 30 hectares or more in 2022, from Loch Garve in Scotland to Dorset on the south coast.

Urban areas are affected too. In 2022 a major incident was declared across London with 10 separate wildfires in the area. On 19^th July 2022 Fire Services had to attend more than 800 individual fires in England alone, many in South Yorkshire where homes were destroyed in Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham as temperatures soared to 40C. 

In June 2023 Scotland suffered one of the largest wildfires, stretching more than a mile long in Daviot in the Highlands. This fire followed one near Cannich that lasted four days after breaking out in May 2023.

Global heating is set to get much worse and these problems will continue to increase. We need far more funding for our emergency services.