Northern Ireland has lost 200 firefighters since 2010​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ new study reveals

The number of firefighters in Northern Ireland has fallen by more than 200 since 2010, according to a new studyThe number of firefighters in Northern Ireland has fallen by more than 200 since 2010, according to a new study
The number of firefighters in Northern Ireland has fallen by more than 200 since 2010, according to a new study
​A new report says that Northern Ireland has more than 200 fewer firefighters than in 2010.

That equates to a 12% fall says the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

However, the province is still the least affected part of the UK.

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​The total number of firefighters in the UK has fallen by 12,000 since 2010.

The FBU claimed the reduction had left the UK without the resilience needed to guarantee public safety.

One in five firefighter jobs across the country have been axed in the last 14 years, as well as one in three fire control staff, who take emergency calls and mobilise crews, said the union.

Meanwhile, response times to life-threatening fires have slowed by three minutes, from 6.11 minutes in 1995 to 9.13 minutes in 2023, it was claimed.

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England was the worst impacted, with 10,000 jobs cut (22% of the total).

In the same period, Scotland lost 1,400 firefighters (18%) and Wales lost 500 (13%).

The union added that it also found that 4,000 firefighters have both a full time and an on-call contract, meaning that they will be counted as two firefighters in official data.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “Fourteen years of austerity have devastated the fire and rescue service. Every region has been hit, with 12,000 firefighters lost to cuts across the UK.

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“With flooding, wildfires and storms on the rise as a result of the climate emergency, firefighters are being asked to do more with less.

“999 response times are slower than ever before, putting homes and lives at risk.

“To protect the public, Labour must invest in the fire and rescue service as a matter of urgency.”

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