Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) has denied claims by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) that the county is facing a “critical failure in risk management” due to dangerously low firefighter numbers.
In a strongly-worded statement released today (Wednesday), the FBU accused BFRS leadership of presiding over an “understaffing crisis” that leaves residents and firefighters exposed to heightened risk, particularly during the high-risk summer period.
Jamie Newell, FBU executive council member and serving Bedfordshire firefighter, said: “Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is critically understaffed, with dangerously low numbers of firefighters available to protect the public.
“This is the result of the chief fire officer failing to address a crisis in recruitment and retention.
“To rub salt in the wound, firefighters have seen the number of senior officer roles increase, meaning there is now one senior officer for every wholetime station.
“Resources must be directed where they are needed most – towards maintaining safe, effective crewing and the ability to respond to emergencies.”
The FBU claims that the service needs to recruit up to 30 more firefighters to restore what it calls “safe and sustainable” staffing levels, adding that training new recruits could take 18 months or longer.
Summer fire season
The union also raised concerns about the timing of any shortfall, warning that Bedfordshire is heading into the peak summer fire season.
In July 2022, the county declared a major incident during a heatwave, with firefighters hospitalised due to exhaustion while tackling widespread fires.
However, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has rejected the union’s claims, saying current staffing levels are sufficient to maintain a safe and effective response to emergencies.
ACFO Jim Davies, Director of Service Delivery at BFRS, said: “We currently have enough firefighters to ride fire engines to give the people of Bedfordshire the emergency service they deserve.
“We completely agree with the FBU that resources must be directed to where they are needed most. Work has already started on a new Community Risk Analysis earlier than planned, which will tell us what we need and where we need it to keep pace with our growing county.”
He acknowledged that the service had identified “a period of potential higher turnover in the future,” but said that a plan is already in place to mitigate this and maintain fire engine availability.
“We have a planned range of options to increase the number of wholetime firefighters when they are needed,” he added.
