Category Archives: Firefighters

Australian fires: residents of NSW towns urged to take shelter as Victorian warnings downgraded

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Emergency alerts have been issued in the Cessnock and Bega Valley regions of NSW, but warnings in Gippsland have been downgraded

Residents are being warned to take shelter as fire crews battle to bring bushfires in the New South Wales south coast and Hunter regions under control, with those living in several towns told that it is too late for them to leave.

In NSW, the rural fire service (RFS) issued emergency alerts warning that it was too late to leave the towns of Abernethy and Elrington, near the Hunter Valley city of Cessnock, along with Bermagui, Cuttagee, Barragga Bay, Murrah and Bunga in the Bega Valley on the state’s south coast, on Tuesday afternoon.

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Australia news live: Greens’ McKim says Pezzullo should be ‘working on his resignation letter’ after texts leaked

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Senator and home affairs spokesperson calls Pezzullo’s position ‘completely untenable’. Follow the day’s news live

Residents rescued from suspicious apartment block blaze in Melbourne

Residents trapped inside a burning Melbourne care facility have been safely rescued, with the blaze regarded as suspicious, AAP reports.

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Australia ‘better prepared’ for bushfires than ahead of black summer as government considers national community service

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Emergency services minister says service would likely be voluntary as government ‘wouldn’t want to commit to obliging people or forcing them’

National community service is being considered among a suite of options to boost recruitment to fight fires, but the Australian emergency services minister has suggested service is likely to remain voluntary.

On Sunday, Murray Watt revealed that national community service, an idea championed by influential crossbench senator Jacqui Lambie, is the “sort of option is under consideration” through a home affairs department review.

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Firefighters fear being ‘overwhelmed’ by rise in battery fires after fatal Sydney blaze

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A NSW fire and rescue superintendent said the death of a man in a Sydney fire on Saturday night was part of a ‘marked increase’ in such incidents

Firefighters say they fear being ‘“overwhelmed” by increasing numbers of battery fires, after the death of a Sydney man in a house fire on Saturday night was linked to toxic smoke from burning lithium batteries.

The 54-year-old man was eating downstairs in his Punchbowl unit in Sydney’s west with two women when the fire broke out. He tried to extinguish the blaze with a fire extinguisher, but when firefighters arrived he was found unconscious on his bathroom floor with soot on his mouth, having inhaled toxic smoke.

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About 100 firefighters tackle huge blaze at east London business centre

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Plume of smoke visible for miles as 15 fire engines attend site in Bow, where no casualties have yet been reported

Thick black smoke billowed into the sky on Friday evening when a huge fire broke out in east London. About 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at a business centre with flats in Fairfield Road in Bow.

The London fire brigade (LFB) described it as a “very visible fire” and said most of the roof of the six-storey building was alight. The cause of the fire is not yet known and there were no reports of injuries.

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Bibby Stockholm asylum barge is ‘potential deathtrap’, say firefighters

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FBU to write to Home Office with overcrowding concerns after first group’s arrival delayed due to safety issues on Dorset-based vessel

Firefighters have accused ministers of attempting to house asylum seekers on a “potential deathtrap” after health and safety officials prompted a further delay to the use of a giant barge until next week.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it is planning to write to the Home Office about overcrowding and access to fire exits on the vessel. The health and safety officials’ intervention had already led to the postponement of the arrival of the first men who were due to stay on the 222-bedroom Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset.

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Every fire brigade in England plagued by bullying and harassment claims, report finds

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Inspectors say ‘deeply troubling’ behaviour found at fire and rescue services across England may be ‘tip of the iceberg’

Every fire brigade in England is plagued with bullying, harassment and discrimination complaints, a damning report has found, and officials have called for drastic measures to clean up the service.

Inspectors urged bosses to carry out background checks on every firefighter, with those who fail being sacked, after long-awaited findings shone a light on “deeply troubling” behaviour in the emergency service.

A senior officer accused of calling a black colleague the N-word dismissing it as simply “having a laugh”.

A firefighter reporting a superior for making a racist comment, only to find his account dismissed because the alleged offender “wouldn’t behave in such a way”. The senior officer in question then threatened “to make his life hell”.

Two male firefighters mockingly told a female colleague they were “going to rape her”, before simulating it with her.

Some staff being reluctant to speak up after being told it would be “career suicide” to do so.

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Union leader urges TUC to unite in defying planned anti-strike law

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Fire Brigades Union chief says joint action needed to oppose ‘pernicious’ minimum service levels bill

A leading trade union has called for a concerted campaign of defiance and civil disobedience against the government’s planned anti-strike laws.

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), urged a coordinated campaign among trade unions of “mass non-cooperation and non-compliance” against the minimum service levels bill.

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Life amid the rubble: UK specialists on their Turkey earthquake rescue effort

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After the first quake hit, 77 Britons were deployed to join teams from around the world. Here, some recount their experiences

British search-and-rescue specialists deployed to Turkey after its earthquake on 6 February have recalled the scenes of devastation that they encountered, as the country and its southern neighbour Syria were hit by two more tremors this week.

“If we were still out there [this week], we would have been in those buildings,” said Wayne Ward, a firefighter for Lancashire’s rescue service, and one of 77 British specialists deployed to Turkey in the days that followed the first quake.

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London fire brigade reviews Freemason ties after union criticism

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FBU raised concerns at meeting discussing review that found service to be institutionally misogynist

London fire brigade is reviewing its relationship with the Freemasons after concerns were raised by the Fire Brigades Union, the Guardian has learned.

The concerns were raised at a recent London assembly meeting to discuss a damning independent review that found LFB to be institutionally racist and misogynist.

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Warning over spate of UK house fires as residents try to cut energy bills

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Take care using candles and electric heaters, fire authorities warn, as Ofgem reveals gas and electricity bills are up by 86%

Fire authorities have urged householders to take care when using candles, wood burners and electric heaters to cut energy bills this Christmas after a spate of recent house fires.

Flat fires in Uxbridge and Harwich this month were caused by candles; fire chiefs in Cumbria, Hereford and Worcester reported more fires as householders used unswept chimneys and candles; and last month in Wakefield a blaze was caused by a tumble dryer being used overnight to save money.

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PMQs live: Rishi Sunak quizzed by Keir Starmer over nurses’ strikes

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Latest updates: prime minister faces Labour leader ahead of industrial action by nurses on Thursday

Yesterday Mark Harper, the transport secretary, claimed that public support for the rail strikes was declining. Today Ipsos has published some polling that backs up this claim, although support for the RMT has not collapsed, and public opinion is still divided. It puts support for the strikes at 30%, down from 43% in September. And opposition to the strikes is at 36%, up from 31%.

Yesterday Savanta published polling showing a similar trend. It said that net support for the rail workers on strike was +21 in October (those supporting them, minus those not supporting them), and that now it was down to +13.

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London fire brigade put into special measures over misogyny and racism

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Watchdog to monitor force closely after damning report revealed deep-seated behavioural problems

London fire brigade (LFB) has been placed into special measures by the chief fire inspector after a report revealing incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying.

The watchdog moved the LFB into an enhanced level of monitoring on Wednesday, citing concerns about “culmulative evidence” from its last inspection and later of unacceptable behaviour within the brigade.

His Majesty’s inspector of fire and rescue services, Matt Parr, said: “We should recognise that London fire brigade’s recent cultural review was commissioned by the brigade, whose leadership has accepted its findings without reservation.

“However, it is clear that the behavioural problems we highlighted earlier this year are deep-seated and have not improved. We will now examine London fire brigade’s improvement plans more frequently and more intrusively, and work closely with the brigade to monitor its progress.”

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Mother of London firefighter who killed himself welcomes damning report

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Exclusive: Linda Francois, whose son Jaden Francois-Esprit was bullied in Wembley, says culture must change

The mother of a firefighter whose death triggered a review into the culture at the London fire brigade, has welcomed the findings of a damning report.

However, Linda Francois, whose son Jaden Francois-Esprit killed himself in August 2020, said that much remained to be done and making real changes in the workplace for people like her son was what really mattered.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.

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Report finds misogyny, racism and bullying at London fire brigade

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Author Nazir Afzal labelled the service ‘institutionally misogynist and racist’ and hoped the review would be a ‘turning point’

Incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying have been exposed by an independent report on the culture at the UK’s largest firefighting and rescue organisation.

Female firefighters have been groped, beaten and had their helmets filled with urine, a review of the London fire brigade has found.

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Climate complacency has left firefighters ill-prepared, says union chief

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Matt Wrack of Fire Brigades Union says ‘historic cuts’ have angered and demoralised his members

A “horrible complacency” about the impact of the climate emergency on the fire service has left it under-funded and ill-prepared, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union has warned.

Matt Wrack said firefighters were at the sharp end of tackling the impact of climate change and warned that this summer’s wildfires had to act as a “wake-up call” to the UK government to engage with those on the frontline.

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Victorian fire brigade moves to strike out large parts of commander’s sexual harassment claim

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Commander Donna Wheatley alleges she was groped and had a senior officer expose his genitals

Victoria’s fire service is attempting to strike out large parts of a sexual harassment and assault claim launched by one of its highest-ranking female fighters on the basis of the time she took to come forward with the complaints.

Last year commander Donna Wheatley – one of the first women to reach the senior rank within Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) – went public with allegations of harassment and gender discrimination across her 20-year career.

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Disposable barbecues must be banned in England, says fire chief

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London commissioner Andy Roe calls for national ban after barbecues blamed for blazes across the country during driest spell in 111 years

London’s fire commissioner has joined calls for a total national ban on disposable barbecues after they were blamed for starting wildfires in England during the recent spate of dry weather.

The barbecues are a fire risk, especially when used on dry ground, and areas of England have seen the driest weather experienced for 111 years.

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Low winds stopped what might have been new ‘great fire of London’, says expert

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More than 40 houses were destroyed by fires on Britain’s hottest day. Now there are calls for an urgent rethink on building safety laws

Fires that burned in several parts of the UK last week spread in the same way as those that led to the great fire of London and would have been far worse with stronger winds, a fire expert has said.

Fires in Wennington, Uxbridge and Erith destroyed 41 properties last Tuesday, when temperatures went above 40C to make it the hottest day on record in the UK, and fire services had their busiest day since the second world war.

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Grenfell families ‘enraged’ by plan to keep ‘stay put’ policy

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Grenfell United criticises Home Office papers outlining reason for retaining policy against inquiry recommendations

Bereaved relatives of the Grenfell Tower blaze have said they are “enraged” by government plans to keep the controversial “stay put” policy instead of adopting an inquiry recommendation.

Grenfell United has criticised new Home Office papers which outline its reasons for retaining the policy – meaning that residents of most buildings should wait for rescue services rather than leaving in the event of a fire.

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