FIRE BRIGADES UNION

Immediate release: 27 November 2012

SOUTH WEST FLOODS - FBU TELLS MPs “WAKE UP” TO CONSEQUENCES OF CUTS

After
the extraordinary professionalism of fire crews who worked around the
clock for days on end to deal with massive floods in the South West, the
FBU has written to politicians in the region and told them that the
union now expects investment in the service and the threat of front-line
cuts to be removed.

The call follows large scale flooding
throughout the region which saw fire crews in one South West brigade
answer 1,357 emergency calls and rescue 218 people in only five days.
These astonishing figures from Devon and Somerset fire and rescue
service, give an idea of the massive task undertaken by South West fire
crews dealing with the flood struck region and the figures cover only
one brigade, with the other five brigades in the region still to report.


The very serious weather situation led to plans being initiated
by the fire service, which saw crews and equipment from other areas of
the UK arrive in the region with additional equipment and firefighters.
This co-ordination doubled the specialist capacity in the South West but
was only possible because no other region, at that time, was affected
to the same extent. Even with this extra assistance, the service was
pushed to the limit with local crews working around the clock to deal
with very high levels of emergency calls. Fire crews were on the ground
constantly operating in the most difficult and dangerous of
circumstances to help people badly affected by severe flooding.
Countless rescues of people trapped in flood water were made and crews
also dealt with landslides and large scale pumping operations.

In
the letter the union has told politicians that they expect recognition
of the enormous demands placed on the capacity of the service and that
any suggestion of cuts in the frontline are now removed.

Other points raised by the union in the hard hitting letter include:

•   
Regions should be made more self sufficient to deal with large scale
floods, as opposed to relying on other areas which may be hit later;
•   
Investment should be made in better protection for fire crews many of
whom were forced to work in flood water wearing unsuitable kit which is
actually designed to protect them from heat and burns;
•   
Investment needs to be made in more boats, high volume pumps and crews
to use them in order to ensure rapid and effective deployment;
•    The government need to make flooding a statutory duty of the fire and rescue service to bring clarity and resources;
•   
There needs to be a clear undertaking that the extra costs incurred in
dealing with these incidents are met centrally and are not taken out of
already overstretched local budgets.

Finally the union demands
that the government “wake up” to the life saving work of the fire and
rescue service and that any threat of cuts to the front line of the
service must be removed.

Tam McFarlane, South West FBU said: “The
professionalism and commitment shown by members of the fire and rescue
service during these devastating floods was there for all to see. Crews
worked around the clock and in the most difficult of circumstances to
serve the public and their communities. But it should be obvious to
everyone that we are working to the limit and, in some cases, beyond.

“Large
scale floods are becoming a regular feature of the work that we do and
every region should have the necessary equipment and front line
firefighting staff needed to deal with it effectively. This requires
further investment and we have asked our MPs to raise these points with
the Government as a matter of urgency.

“Everyone should now be
able to see that cuts in the frontline fire service would lead to public
safety being compromised, and any suggestion of these must now be
removed. The government has recently been told by the Chief Fire
Officers Association that proposed budget cuts will lead to over 4,050
firefighter posts being cut, 60 fire stations closed, 150 fire
appliances cut and 40 fire stations downgraded across England. These are
all lifesaving frontline posts and equipment. The current and ongoing
situation in the South West should be a stark wake up call regarding the
consequences of proposed cuts to the front line fire and rescue service
and the government needs to pay heed.”

Contact:
FBU Executive Council Member, South West Tam McFarlane        07813 170279