As the role of the fire service in dealing with the worst effects of the climate crisis becomes clearer, so has the scale of cuts to the service in recent years.
Guardian analysis of publicly available data shows that the total number of firefighters in England’s 46 fire services has fallen by 20.4% since 2010, with 35,279 in 2021 compared to 44,307 in 2010, accounting for full-time and on-call firefighters.
Other official figures reveal cuts in budgets as well as the number of staffed stations in the country.
The risk of underfunding the fire service in the face of climate collapse has never been greater with this summer’s second heat wave once again threatening wildfires across the country.
The previous heatwave, in July, saw firefighters called to various blazes, including one in Wennington, east London, where two rows of terraced houses were destroyed.
Firefighters in England
The data is worrying in light of warnings that heatwaves and drier summers will become more frequent due to the effects of a hotter planet.
Looking at individual authorities, West Yorkshire, Northumberland and Staffordshire saw staff numbers fall by more than a third since 2010.
Figures compiled by the Local Authorities Association (LGA) show that the number of staffed fire stations in England has fallen from 1,432 in 2009/2010 to 1,393 in 2019/2020.
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Analysis by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) of local authority funding of fire and rescue services in England revealed a reduction of £139.7m or 14% between 2016/17 and 2021/22.
Some fire and rescue services have seen government funding cut by more than 40%, with individual brigades losing up to £22m.
Firefighters in West Yorkshire
FBU analysis revealed that from 2016/17 to 2021/22, funding for four was cut by more than a third. West Sussex lost £4.3m or 43.9%; Warwickshire £2.9m or 40.8%; Oxfordshire £3.2m or 38.2%; and Surrey £6.1m or 34.3%.
London Fire Service suffered the biggest cut in monetary terms, losing £22.1m or 9.5% of its funding.
Andy Darke, FBU assistant general secretary, said: “Just over two weeks ago firefighters had to deal with very serious bushfires across much of the country. Several firefighters were injured and many people lost their homes.
“Heatwaves have been on the government’s National Risk Register since its first iteration in 2008. Bushfires as a national risk were added to the register in 2013.”
He continued: “Staff shortages were so bad that during the last bushfire period almost all fire and rescue services in the worst affected areas had to call in emergency firefighters and ask them to work extra shifts.
“If we are to properly protect life and property from bushfires, the fire service urgently needs massive investment.”
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