‘National priority’ to equip UK firefighters amid growing wildfire threat

Exclusive: FBU calls for more funding as ‘unprecedented summer’ puts rising demands on already stretched crews Firefighters in the UK are under increased pressure as a result of an “unprecedented summer of dangerous and volatile wildfires”, the Fire Brigades Union has said, as many parts of the country brace for a fifth heatwave of the year. As authorities declared almost three-quarters of England was now in drought, Steve Wright, the FBU general secretary, said the unpredictable environmenta...

By Caroline Davies, Matthew Pearce and Pippa Neill