Peter Lazenby
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DISASTROUS blazes in London and across Britain “exposed fire services wrecked by government policy,” the firefighters’ union said today.
Since the Tories were elected in 2010 with their Lib Dem collaborators, 11,500 firefighters’ jobs have been slashed.
On Tuesday, front-line firefighters and control room staff were “stretched to the limit,” several were injured and two were hospitalised, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said.
Despite union warnings of the increased dangers of fires during extreme weather caused by global warming,11,500 jobs have been axed since 2010.
Dozens of homes were destroyed.
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “Firefighters are at the forefront of the climate emergency.
“The demands of the job are increasing but our resources have been under attack by government cuts for over a decade.
“We have warned of the growing threat for years but our concerns have fallen on deaf ears.
“The brutal truth is that government ministers and chief fire officers have ignored the warning signs which have been obvious for all to see. They are guilty of criminal complacency.”
He said that firefighters and local communities have been let down by the failure of chief fire officers and politicians.
“The same people then tell front-line firefighters to tighten their belts and accept a cut in their pay,” Mr Wrack said.
“We will not accept a paltry pay offer of 2 per cent when the demands of the job are increasing, and the cost of food, fuel, energy and almost everything else is soaring.
“There is a growing anger at the way firefighters have been treated for more than a decade and at the way our service is being dismantled in front of our eyes.”
