HENRY FOWLER, assistant general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), reports on Day 2 from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at the Workers’ Retreat, Quorn Grange Hotel
SAVING people’s lives is still the heart of a firefighter’s job. Hundreds of people are rescued from fires in Scotland every year.
These are the people who might be dead today but are alive because of the intervention of firefighters. It is to preserve life — to save those who would otherwise perish — that firefighters adhere so strongly to the motto “every second counts.”
The primary purpose of the fire and rescue service is the prompt and efficient mobilisation of firefighters in response to a fire or other related incident in order to save life and protect property.
Since 2010, one in five firefighter jobs has disappeared alongside 30% funding cuts — all while climate breakdown brings record blazes and flooding. It’s time to fund our fire service properly, writes FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT


