Government proposals for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to take over management of the fire and rescue service would put public safety at risk, according to the Fire Brigades Union.

The FBU’s comments come on the day its submission on the proposals was delivered to the Home Office. The proposals regarding PCCs are part of a wider consultation announced in September, ‘Enabling closer working between the emergency services’ and covers work already being taken on by firefighters such as collaboration with overstretched ambulance services.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, who represent the vast majority of the UK’s 50,000 firefighters, said: “Firefighters provide a humanitarian service, and this just does not mix with law enforcement – firefighters rely heavily on public trust in order to gain access to their homes, not just to extinguish fires but for all the safety checks they do, the fitting of smoke alarms, and other work in the community such as keeping an eye on vulnerable people and the elderly. If PCCs are allowed to take over the running of the fire and rescue service, we are in no doubt that public safety will be put severely at risk. PCCs may hope for a share in the popularity firefighters enjoy with the public, but neither firefighters nor the public will benefit from this association with law enforcement. We have already had cases where firefighters were asked to pitch in and help with evictions – this is simply not their role. To be linked with police in this way will be extremely damaging.

“The two cultures are completely different. The PCC mode of governance is significantly less democratic than the current fire authority model, and we believe that the involvement of PCCs will disrupt industrial relations. PCCs have no place in the fire and rescue service, nor do they have any mandate to run such services.”

An extract from the FBU’s submission to the consultation reads:

“The FBU believes it is a huge mistake to allow Police and Crime Commissioners to take over the management of fire and rescue services…..such a step would ruin the service firefighters provide to the public, damage the functioning and reputation of the fire and rescue service, diminish local democracy, worsen firefighters’ working conditions and is bad news for the police service itself….the FBU urges the government to stop and think again before it damages an irreplaceable public service.”