Fire and rescue 'unlikely to be able to cope' says union boss as over 100 firefighter jobs cut in Hertfordshire in past decade

There are over 100 fewer firefighters in Hertfordshire than a decade ago, figures show, as the Fire Brigades Union accuses the Government of "complacency" over cuts to services in the face of climate change.

With early weather reports predicting further hot weather, the FBU warns that the fire and rescue service across England is unlikely to be able to cope with wildfires like those seen during the historic hot spell.

The latest available Home Office figures show there were the equivalent of 655 full-time firefighters at the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service as of the end of March last year – 487 whole time and 167 on-call.

However, this was down from 667 a year before and 769 in 2011 – a fall of 15% over a decade.

And Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue says it’s been actively recruiting – with the largest ever single intake of new firefighters for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service set to begin training next month.

Using the latest fire service area population estimates for 2020, it means the rate of firefighters per capita in Hertfordshire has fallen from around 6.9 per 10,000 people to 5.5 over this period.

The FBU said the Government and chief fire officers have "decimated" the service nationally, with almost 10,000 fewer firefighters across England last year than a decade previously.

Riccardo la Torre, FBU national officer, said: "That is outrageous complacency in the face of rapidly rising temperatures.

"Fire and rescue services should plan and prepare for foreseeable risk, yet it is clear they are not doing that."

He said the wildfires caused by record temperatures in mid-July should have been a "wake-up call" for the Government, but there have been no major funding announcements.

And long-range weather forecasters WX Charts are predicting another heatwave in August, with temperatures across much of England estimated to reach 30C.

Mr la Torre added: “Put simply, further heatwaves will result in more wildfires, and the fire and rescue service is unlikely to be able to cope.

“Firefighters face a climate emergency at work and a cost-of-living crisis at home."

He said the recent 2% pay offer – which the FBU says equates to a real terms pay cut of around 7% over the last year – is evidence of the Government treating firefighters in a "disgusting manner".

Greenpeace said there has been an alarmingly consistent increase in wildfires in the UK over recent years, and without government action this will only worsen.

Rebecca Newsom, head of politics at the environmental campaign group, said: "For decades, successive UK governments have fanned the flames of climate change, and the wildfires that come with it, by failing to cut emissions and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels fast enough.

"For the next Prime Minister, this, alongside tackling the cost-of-living crisis, must be their number one priority."

The Home Office figures show that 2,431 men and women joined the national fire service in 2020-21 – down from 2,845 in the previous financial year.

In Hertfordshire, the number of joiners dropped from 96 to 48 over this time.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Like many other public sector organisations, there has been increased financial pressure on fire and rescue services over the last decade, and as such we have reviewed staff numbers in certain areas of the county. In the last 10 years, we have been actively recruiting firefighters to Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Since 2011, we have trained 270 firefighters across 15 courses. We have just completed another recruitment campaign and we encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a firefighter to visit our website for more information.

“We’re actually trying to increase firefighter numbers at the moment and we have 34 new recruits starting their basic training in September this year. This will be the largest ever single intake of new firefighters for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and clearly demonstrates our drive to keep residents safe. We do not expect to make any redundancies at this time. Some people’s roles might change, but that’s nothing new. Firefighters’ jobs have changed enormously over the last few decades and that’s going to continue.”