Politicians told more funding needed to prevent wildfires as temperatures rise

The Fire Brigades Union said the fire and rescue service was ‘fragmented, overstretched and chronically underfunded’.

Firefighters respond to a large wildfire in woodland at Lickey Hills Country Park on the edge of Birmingham in 2022 (PA) (PA Archive)

Firefighters are urging the next government to prepare the country for the impact of rising temperatures following this week’s heatwave.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said there had been wildfires across much of the country, warning that the fire and rescue service was “fragmented, overstretched and chronically underfunded.”

The union called for urgent investment to prevent a repeat of fires in the summer of 2022, when it claimed fire and rescue services were pushed to breaking point.

The number of extreme weather events will only continue to rise, placing even more pressure on our overstretched fire service

Matt Wrack, FBU

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “An incoming Labour government will need to wake up to the harsh reality of the climate emergency.

“We need urgent decarbonisation to avert the worst dangers of climate collapse, but we also need to adapt.

“Firefighters are battling the effects of soaring temperatures, but a decade of brutal cuts has left the UK unprepared.

“The fire and rescue service is fragmented, overstretched and chronically underfunded.

“Two years ago, UK firefighters were pushed to breaking point responding to raging wildfires without enough resources.

“We must not see a repeat of this chaos.

“The number of extreme weather events will only continue to rise, placing even more pressure on our overstretched fire service.

“Failing to invest in the fire service means failing to protect homes and lives from climate disasters.”