Covid cases causing firefighter shortage in London, union says

According to the FBU almost 10% of operational firefighters in London have either tested positive for Covid or are self-isolating

Rising Covid-19 cases have left London Fire Brigade (LFB) with "unprecedented" staff shortages, a union has claimed.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said nearly a third of London's fire engines were out of action in the last week as a result of staff shortages.

According to the union almost 10% of operational firefighters have either tested positive or are self-isolating.

LFB said the pandemic was causing "staffing challenges" but it continued to meet attendance targets.

According to the FBU, 40 fire engines out of a total of 142 were unavailable on both the day and night shift on Thursday due to shortages, with 141 firefighters having tested positive for Covid and 283 self-isolating.

'Devastating impact'

The union claimed "skyrocketing" Covid cases were exacerbating existing low levels of staffing in the service caused by job cuts in recent years.

FBU London regional secretary Jon Lambe said: "The new Omicron variant is having a devastating impact on the London Fire Brigade, but this should not be affecting the brigade the way it is, with almost a third of our fire engines unavailable.

"The reason that's happening is firefighter numbers being too low, due to the devastating cuts imposed on the London Fire Brigade since 2010."

Nevertheless, LFB deputy commissioner Richard Mills said the service was still consistently meeting its attendance targets, in getting the first fire engine to an incident within an average of six minutes and a second within eight minutes.

• NHS staff burnout at an emergency level - report

• What is being done to ease the ambulance 'crisis'?

He said: "Like all other emergency services we have faced staffing challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We continue to face these challenges as new variants are found and restrictions are updated and changed. We follow the relevant government guidance closely to keep our staff safe."

He added if staff or fire engines at a particular station are unavailable for any reason, they are moved from elsewhere to provide cover.

"This happens daily as crews deal with emergencies, carry out community safety work or train away from their station," he said.