‘Recipe for catastrophe’ as EU cuts firefighter jobs regardless of enormous wildfires
The EU is witnessing a gentle decline within the variety of firefighters even because the area grapples with a rise in wildfires attributed to the consequences of local weather change.
According to the newest Eurostat report, the entire depend of firefighters within the EU final yr stood at 360,000, marking a decline of two,800 from the earlier yr’s figures.
The decline in firefighting capability comes at a time when wildfires have gotten extra frequent and extreme as a result of impacts of local weather change, inserting additional stress on present sources and capabilities.
The report highlights that among the many 27 member international locations, 10 nations diminished their firefighting workforce between 2021 and 2022.
The largest drops had been recorded in France, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Belgium.
France noticed a major discount of 5,400 firefighting positions, whereas Romania and Portugal adopted swimsuit by slashing 4,250 and a pair of,907 jobs, respectively. These cuts in important firefighting sources are elevating issues concerning the EU’s capability to successfully reply to escalating wildfire incidents.
However, the report additionally reveals a glimmer of hope in some corners of the EU. Spain managed to buck the pattern by including 617 firefighters to its ranks throughout the identical interval, whereas Italy additionally elevated its firefighting personnel by 546. These proactive measures from sure member international locations display the pressing want to boost firefighting capabilities to match the rising wildfire threats.
While Brussels has taken steps to handle the state of affairs by increasing the EU’s function in catastrophe response and establishing a everlasting fleet of firefighting plane, consultants emphasise the significance of not solely reactive measures but additionally proactive approaches. Preventative measures, reminiscent of lively forest administration and land use insurance policies that cut back hearth dangers, should be prioritised to successfully curb the onset and unfold of wildfires.
Esther Lynch, normal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation stated “Cutting the number of firefighters in the midst of a climate crisis is a recipe for disaster”.
She added: “The increased fire risk caused by climate change has been clear for all to see this summer and we need to ensure our fire services have the staff and resources they need to do their life-saving work.”
It comes as a number of international locations within the bloc have been battling wildfires this summer season.
More than 1,000 firefighters are at the moment battling a sequence of wildfires in Portugal because it and neighbouring Spain expertise a number of days of utmost summer season warmth, with temperatures in lots of areas rising above 40 levels Celsius (104 F).
Meanwhile final month, 1000’s of Brits had been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes, with households compelled to stroll miles within the blistering warmth after it grew to become too harmful to remain on some components of the favored vacation resort.