THE Fire Brigades Union (FBU) slammed the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today for backing the downgrading of the use of breathing apparatus in high-rise fires.

The regulator supported the National Fire Chiefs’ Council proposal to remove the need for firefighters to activate the apparatus beyond the “bridgehead” – the highest safe point in the building.

The plan has been fiercely contested by the union since it was published in 2020.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “The FBU has no confidence in the HSE’s investigation.

“It is flawed, contradictory and an insult to the firefighting profession, and undermines the status of the HSE as an independent safety regulator.

“We were cut out of this investigation at every stage, while the opinion of fire service employers was taken as fact.

“The investigation relies on assumptions and assertions rather than competent assessment and field testing.

“A cursory reading of the document reveals that the regulator has completely misunderstood the safe donning practice and how firefighters are trained to follow it.”

Mr Wrack urged the HSE to withdraw its “dangerous decision immediately,” saying that it was “perverse” and licences the intentional exposure of firefighters to harmful substances.

“This is being used as a cheap sticking plaster option to address the failings of government and construction companies that have led to a building safety crisis,” he said.

“But firefighters aren’t cannon fodder and we will not allow our health and safety to be discarded in this way.

“The HSE took almost 17 months to provide these flawed outcomes, after ignoring our concerns for a year. Their actions, and lack of action, on what is a matter of safety, life and death for firefighters and the public is simply unacceptable.”

A HSE spokesperson said: “We reached our conclusion after carefully considering the points the FBU made.  We will of course consider any new evidence provided.”