Brigade dealing with more 'no fire' calls

The Fire Brigades Union says it has seen a surge in widespread flooding nationally, as crews “battle the sharp end of climate change”.

Home Office data shows Cleveland Fire Brigade responded to 1,390 non-fire incidents in 2019-20.

That was a six per cent increase on the 1,308 incidents in the previous year.

Fire crews were called to a total of 8,582 incidents last year - with fires making up just 50% of these.

Non-fire incidents include false alarms, flooding incidents, road accidents, animal assistance, suicide attempts, people being stranded or trapped and dealing with hazardous substances.

Nationally, fire crews responded to 172,000 incidents of this kind in the last year – a six per cent rise rise on last year and 12% up on the figure a decade ago.

Figures show the latest increase has been driven by crews attending more flooding and multi-agency incidents, which involve other emergency services.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: "We have seen a significant increase in flooding incidents, likely linked to the mass flooding emergencies across the country over last winter.

“Widespread flooding in the last year and recent wildfires have shown that firefighters are battling the sharp end of climate change.

He added: "Their work should be properly recognised with a statutory duty to respond to floods and the proper funding of their service."

Nationally, fire crews responded to 557,299 callouts, a three per cent drop compared to the previous year.