Gilchrist: attacked "complacency"

Firefighters' lives are being put at risk because the government has swept a groundbreaking safety report under the carpet, according to union leaders.

Fire service union the FBU has accused John Prescott's department of "breathtaking complacency" in not acting on the report, which was commissioned in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.

The study by the Buildings Disaster Advisory Group (BDAG) found that even in day-to-day fire situations, there is a high risk of failure due to firefighters suffering from heat exhaustion.

In the tests, just a fifth of 'casualities' were rescued successfully with safe levels of heat exposure, and firefighters' body temperatures reached such high levels that most of the tests had to be stopped.

Yet according to the FBU, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has merely sent out a circular to fire authorities outlining the research "for information".

The note added that it did not require a response and it was not relevant to the government's fire service policy.

Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the FBU, said: "The most important safety research in 50 years is being swept under the carpet because it shows we need more firefighters.

"They asked the questions and now they don't like the answers.

"The research clearly shows that firefighting is dangerously exhausting even for very fit individuals. We also need proper rest periods to recover.

"This clearly suggests that more firefighters are needed in the first response to fires with more needed throughout the incident.

"This contradicts current government thinking, which is why key parts of the research are being swept under the carpet.

"The inaction of the ODPM is putting the lives of firefighters and the public at risk."

Extreme conditions

The study is the first to compare the effects of firefighting on the human body in everyday scenarios and in extreme conditions, such as tower blocks.

It found that firefighters' heavy breathing equipment can overheat and tire them out when it is carried up flights of stairs.
The report suggested using one crew to transport the equipment and a separate team to actually fight the fire.

Simon Hunt, BDAG project manager, said the researchers had been surprised by what they had found.

"In the case of the firefighting with live fires, the distances and fire sizes we've set are nothing that might be regarded as extreme," he said.

"Yet on a large number of fires, firefighters are going over the core body temperatures and it is only because we've got the safety systems in place that we're able to ensure firefighters' safety.

"In an operational incident those control measures may not be in place."