Union calls for investment in fire service

Across England, fire and rescue services attended more than 199,000 non-fire incidents in the year to March 2023 – a 2.3% increase from the year before.

However, fatalities at these incidents rose by 17% overall, which the Fire Brigades Union said was caused by a decade of cuts and more firefighters leaving their jobs.

Firefighters routinely attend a range of emergencies other than fires.

Home Office figures show the Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service reported 23 deaths in non-fire incidents they attended last year – in line with 2021-22.

One of the main drivers of the overall surge in deaths was a 52% increase in the number of deaths in medical incidents. There were 624 recorded in 2022-23, with one in Northumberland.

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “We have suffered more than a decade of cuts, with one in five firefighter jobs lost since 2010. The result is that response times are now worse than ever before.

“To reverse this trend, we urgently need investment from central Government.”

In the areas covered by the Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service there were 846 non-fire incidents attended – an 8% decrease from the year before.

Of these, 198 were road traffic collisions, 57 were flooding or rescue from water, and 16 were medical incidents.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government is committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to do their important work and to keep the public safe.”