Submitted by SWFBU on
After yet another period of extraordinary professionalism and commitment from fire crews dealing with massive floods in the South West, the FBU has put politicians on notice that they expect proper support for the Fire Service and the threat of front line cuts to be removed. South West FBU Official Tam McFarlane has once again written to all MP's in the Region outlining the vital role of the Fire Service in large scale incidents and demanding that they lobby Government to stop the cuts agenda and provide additional investment in the frontline service.
Pointing out that he has previously raised these points with MP's during the massive floods in November/December 2012, Tam points out that despite previous experience and expectation, there is still no statutory duty for the Fire & Rescue Service in regard to flooding. Such a duty is supported by the FBU and the Chief Fire Officers Association and would help to ensure that the service is given the proper resources and equipment to deal with these incidents. The FBU has launched a campaign to ask MP's to use their influence to create a statutory duty and we are asking for everyone to get involved.
Please email your MP using the link here and give us your support to stop cuts and get a statutory duty for the Fire Service: Remember - They work for you!
We will post all the replies we get from MP's to Tam's letter on our "What Your MP's Say" page = accountability!
5 February 2014
Dear MP
Re: Large Scale Floods in the South West
I am writing to you in my position as the senior official of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) within the South West Region regarding the large scale flooding which, once again, has impacted so seriously upon our Region.
I have previously written to you on this matter, in November 2012, and outlined a number of very important issues relating to large scale flooding, not least the serious concern of the FBU regarding the impact that Government cuts to Fire Service budgets have on our ability to respond to such incidents. The FBU has estimated that firefighter jobs will reduce by at least 6,000 between 2011 and 2015, and could total 10,000, or 1 in 5 firefighters, overall. In the South West these cuts have already resulted in a serious downgrading and reduction to our frontline response with several frontline Fire Stations and appliances downgraded, including the loss of over 140 frontline firefighter posts (around 20% of the wholetime workforce) in Devon & Somerset, an area which has seen major flooding incidents declared twice in this most recent period. A cuts package in this Brigade alone has resulted in emergency fire cover provided by full-time firefighters being cut in half in the major areas of Taunton, Torquay and Plymouth, and the removal of all full-time firefighters in Ilfracombe.
This is a clear example that despite pre-election promises to the contrary, budget cuts are having a severe impact on frontline services in the Fire & Rescue Service and it should be self evident that cuts on this scale will impact negatively on our ability to respond fully and effectively to the many types of incidents that we are required to deal with, including those which have occurred over the past weeks.
There have been three major incidents declared in our Region in the past few weeks in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. In addition, serious flooding related incidents occurred in Avon, Gloucestershire, Dorset and Wiltshire. In other words, every single Fire & Rescue Service in the South West was once again required to commit fully to large scale serious flooding incidents which put the safety of the public at risk and had a devastating impact on the communities which we serve. As the very serious weather situation developed, plans were initiated by the Fire & Rescue Service which provided crews and equipment from other areas of the UK who arrived in the region in order to assist with the situation. This co-ordination increased the specialist capacity in the South West but was only possible because no other region, at that time, was affected to the same extent.
The reliance on other Fire & Rescue Services to provide additional equipment and resources from other areas of the country is based on the unsustainable premise that this equipment, etc, will not be required within the area it is based. It also, even withthe high degree of co-ordination and pre planning currently in place, creates a delay in the deployment of the equipment and resources due to travel distances etc. I will also add that once the equipment is taken to and deployed in another region it will be unable to be redeployed to its “home” region even if this subsequently becomes affected.
With incidents of large scale flooding becoming such an issue in the South West it is necessary, in order to provide the appropriate level of resilient and sustainable response, for the Region to become self sufficient in terms of the equipment and resources necessary to deal with such an incident. This will require an increase in specialist equipment such as high volume pumps and boats etc, as well as an increase in basic personal safety equipment such as dry suits etc.
Such a necessary increase in equipment must also be matched by a necessary increase in the number of staff to work it. However, as I have outlined in the opening paragraphs of this letter – quite the opposite is happening and frontline posts and equipment are actually being cut and downgraded. This is an untenable situation and I ask that you raise this matter urgently with the Government in order to stop the cuts agenda and provide the necessary investment in the frontline services we require in order to protect the public and deal with the incidents we have to face.
I also wish to once again raise the issue of statutory duty with you. In England and Wales, there is no specific duty requiring Fire and Rescue Services to respond to major flooding. Scotland and Northern Ireland do have a duty in place. The TUC wants the law clarified, so that Firefighters can turn out in sufficient numbers and have the right specialist boats, swift water rescue kit and other equipment to protect the public. This measure is supported by the major stakeholders in the sector, notably the Fire Brigades Union and the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA). Statutory duty is achievable through an Emergency Order to the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.
This issue has been consistently raised by the FBU in the past and I would ask, in light of the large scale flooding which has once again occurred, that you raise it with the Government as a matter of urgency.
I hope you will join with me in recognising the professionalism and commitment shown by members of the Fire & Rescue Service who have worked around the clock, for days on end and in the most difficult of circumstances, in order to serve and protect their communities before, during and after the floods. The highly effective teamwork within the Service was there for all to see, from the Emergency Fire Control Staff who received and co-ordinate extraordinary high levels of calls to the Fire Crews on the ground carrying out numerous rescues and assisting their communities in every possible way.
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 I ask thatyou raise this, together with the points I have made above, with the Government as a matter of urgency.
Any suggestion of further cuts which, as can now clearly be seen, will compromise public safety, must now be removed.
Yours sincerely,
Tam McFarlane
Executive Council Member
FBU South West
