Hundreds of firefighter jobs cut in Nottinghamshire over decade

With early weather reports predicting further hot weather in August, the FBU warns fire services across England are unlikely to be able to cope with wildfires like the one seen in Blidworth during the historic hot spell in July, such as in Blidworth.

The latest Home Office figures show there were the equivalent of 551 full-time firefighters at the Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service as of the end of March 2021 – 416 wholetime and 135 on-call.

However, this was down from 561 a year before and 806 in 2011 – a fall of 32 per cent over a decade.

Using the latest population estimates for 2020, it means the rate of firefighters per capita in Nottinghamshire has fallen from about 7.4 per 10,000 people to 4.7 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 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.

Mr la Torre said: “Further heatwaves will result in more wildfires and the fire service is unlikely to be able to cope.”

He said the recent 2 per cent pay offer – which the FBU says equates to a real-term pay cut of about 7 per cent over the last year – is evidence of the Government treating firefighters in a ‘disgusting manner’.

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

In Nottinghamshire, the number of joiners dropped from 23 to 21 over this time.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “The Government is committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to keep us safe.”

Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin, of Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, said: “The sService has been under significant financial pressure for several years now, so we have had to make cost savings and become more efficient at how we deliver our services.

“Despite these challenges, I’m proud of what our staff achieve to keep communities safe every day.

“We consistently meet the Fire Authority’s 999 call response time target of under eight minutes and we have just been rated as a ‘good’ service by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, making improvements across all areas.

“I know from listening to our own staff that they are struggling with the cost of living, and although we are not directly involved in any negotiations around staff pay, I will do what I can to raise the experiences of our staff so that they are heard.”