Firefighters dealt with more incidents, more fires and saw more fire deaths last year than for most of the last decade in England, yet the Government continues to starve fire authorities of the central funding necessary to keep the public safe, the firefighters’ union FBU has warned.

It says fire deaths in England increased sharply last year, in part because of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Firefighters attended over 564,000 incidents overall in England, the most since 2011/12.

Firefighters attended over 167,000 fires, also the most since 2011/12.

“This suggests that the long period of improvements in public safety has plateaued – with cuts the most likely explanation,” the FBU said. Since 2010, one-in-five firefighter jobs have been cut. In England, this translates to around 10,000 frontline firefighter posts. According to the FBU, that means fewer firefighters at the early stages of incidents, slower response times and greater risk to the public.

Dave Green, FBU national officer, said: “These dreadful new figures confirm firefighters’ worst fears. Austerity cuts are now damaging public safety. For years, politicians have slashed our service and excused their actions because long term improvements were still being made. Now their figures show the public is at greater risk. The Grenfell Tower fire should have been a wake-up call. The Westminster government should have reacted by investing in the fire and rescue service, but instead they just keep on cutting.” He added: “They can’t even keep a proper count of the numbers who died as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire. Firefighters have lost complete confidence in this Tory government. They are putting the public at risk, while wrecking a well-respected, professional public service.”

The union said 72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire, but the official statistics record 71 deaths.