Almost 3,000 UK fire and rescue personnel are unavailable due to self-isolation and inadequate testing procedures, the Fire Brigades Union has warned.

The FBU announced this week that services around the country have lost up to 12% of their firefighters and control staff to self-isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Country-wide, fire services have lost 5.1% of staff on average, while in Kent the figure is lower, with 67 staff sidelined, representing 4.6% of the force.

There 48 firefighters who are not at work as they are self-isolating. Of those seven are sick and cannot carry out duties, while the remainder are carrying out modified duties –19 because family members have symptoms and 22 because someone they live with is vulnerable. There are no control room absences.

The figures differ slightly to those initially issued by the FBU, with more staff off in total but less firefighters.

The FBU has said that, without urgent testing of frontline personnel, there will inevitably be an impact on brigades’ ability to provide fire cover and respond to other emergencies, including their work supporting the coronavirus response.

But in a letter to the FBU, Security Minister James Brokenshire made no commitment to testing fire and rescue personnel in isolation in England, of which 2,300 are in isolation.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “The Westminster government is playing with fire by not testing firefighters and control room staff for coronavirus. Currently, crews are maintaining services, but this will become increasingly difficult as the virus spreads.

“There are already thousands of firefighters and control staff in self-isolation, only a fraction of which will have the disease. If we aren’t able to find out exactly who is infected, and more staff isolate unnecessarily, services will be put on a dangerous knife-edge.

“Of course testing of NHS staff has to be a priority, but firefighters and other emergency service personnel are also at serious risk. The very safety of the public relies on them being able to attend work. There needs to be a clear and deliverable testing strategy for all workers required to continue at work.

“The government failed to secure test kits in sufficient numbers early in the pandemic and now frontline services are paying the price. Devolved governments have begun to take steps in the right direction, but in Westminster time is standing still – ministers need to get to grips with this crisis and ensure that all emergency service personnel are tested as soon as possible.”

The union points out that emergency fire control staff handle 999 calls and provide vital fire survival guidance for areas of up to 5 million people from a single room; and if one member of staff contracts the virus, the emergency call infrastructure for an entire region could be at risk.

Some firefighters are now driving ambulances and assisting ambulance staff; delivering food and medicines to vulnerable people; and working with the police to move dead bodies, after the FBU reached a landmark agreement with fire chiefs and fire and rescue employers.

Firefighters will now also be able to fit masks and respirators for NHS staff and deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies to NHS trusts, after a further agreement was reached on Thursday April 9.

KMTV report on how firefighters in Kent are helping during the pandemic

While the FBU has called for firefighters to cease all non-essential, non-emergency interactions with the public, they will continue to come into contact in emergency situations and as part of their coronavirus response work, placing them at greater risk of infection.

Fire and rescue services in the UK are operating with 11,500 fewer firefighters than in 2010.

Elsewhere in the country London Fire Brigade (LFB) has 472 firefighters and control staff in isolation, nearly 10% of the total, while West Midland Fire and Rescue, covering Birmingham, has 110 firefighters and control staff in isolation, totalling 7.5%.

West Yorkshire’s control room has 15.9% of its staff in isolation, while in Mid and West Wales it’s more than 13%.

Bedfordshire has the highest proportion in isolation, with 55 firefighters and control room staff, 12% of their total.

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