Firefighters lobby over safety


Around 200 FBU fire brigades union activists lobbied MPs last month to “put safety first”. The union is demanding greater professional standards in the fire and rescue service to better protect firefighters following the publication of its report into the “completely avoidable death” of Manchester firefighter Stephen Hunt who was killed in 2013 while responding to a fire at a hair products store.


It also supports the establishment of an independent fire inspectorate in England in order to improve monitoring and enforcement of adherence to guidance and training packages. It says that the new inspectorate must be “sector competent” in order to understand the challenges of the occupation and the risks involved.


The lobby was part of a wider campaign for an end to cuts to the fire service, which the FBU says are at dangerous levels and are compromising the safety of the public and fire crews. It says that some 10,000 firefighter jobs have been lost over the last six years.


www.fbu.org.uk/publication/oldham-street-incident-july-2013-death-stephen-hunt