FIRE ALARM

Union warns 12,000 job losses put public at risk | Record slow response times and crews struggling

- LUCY THORNTON

THE shocking toll of firefighter cuts has been laid bare with fears the public cannot be kept safe.

Data reveals 12,000 firefighters have been lost to cuts involving every region in the UK since 2010.

Response times are three minutes slower than nearly 30 years ago, the Fire Brigades Union has found.

Last year fire engines took an average 9.13 minutes to arrive at a serious incident in record slow times, they discovered.

The FBU made freedom of information requests to find out the fall in staff since 2010.

The London wildfires, from the hottest year on record in 2022, show how the cuts are hurting.

On July 19 2022, 15 fire and rescue services declared major incidents due to wildfires.