Firefighters have warned of a potential “mass exodus” of staff ahead of controversial pension changes in the new year.
Hundreds of firefighters in London are likely to be moved from a legacy pension scheme to a new “inferior” scheme next spring, leading to some leaving in advance of the changes.
The new pension scheme will likely involve firefighters working until they are 60, compared to the previous pension age of 55.
One firefighter suggested that all those over 50 with more than 25 years of service could choose to “cut their losses and go” beforehand.
“If you’re 50 and you’re on the 1992 scheme, you could say ‘I don’t want to do another 10 years’. Not a lot of people are desperate to stay,” the source said.
“I fully expect more people will leave,” they added. “I don’t think LFB were planning on anyone leaving.”
The warning comes as MyLondon reveals that nearly a quarter of fire engines in London were out of action over the Halloween weekend, due to a shortage of trained firefighters.
On the night shift on October, 35 fire engines were unusable due to a lack of trained firefighters, more than 21 per cent of the brigade’s 160 or so fire engines in London.
A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade confirmed that 35 fire engines were unable to be used on the night of October 31.
“Every day there’s double figures of appliances which are off the run,” a source with knowledge of LFB’s situation told this site.
LFB did not deny staff shortages but said the service was still reporting to fires within six minutes.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Our fire cover is planned on a London-wide basis. If staff or fire engines at a particular station are unavailable for any reason, we allocate resources from elsewhere to provide cover.
“This happens daily as crews deal with emergencies, carry out community safety work or train away from their station.”
A Fire Brigades Union study last month found that London has 1,112 fewer firefighters today than in 2010, following cutbacks.
A London Labour party source told MyLondon that even if just one or two firefighters leave per station – with those vacancies unfilled – it could have a major impact on the service.
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