Greater Manchester has lost one in three firefighters since 2002, data shows

Analysis of Home Office figures by our sister title NationalWorld shows how the city-region’s fire service has steadily become smaller in size in recent years.

Hundreds of firefighters left the service without their roles being filled between 2002 and 2021, figures reveal.

It comes as the recent UK heatwave put the issue of firefighting firmly in the spotlight, with crews facing numerous severe incidents in the high temperatures and experts warning that we can expect more of this in the future due to climate change.

The data shows that between 2002 and 2021 Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) lost 37.5 per cent of its firefighters, a reduction in the overall headcount of 819.

In 2021 there were 1,367 firefighters working in the service, compared to 2,186 in 2002. In 2011 there were 1,813 firefighters, meaning more than 400 crew members have gone from the service in the space of a decade.

The last time more than 2,000 firefighters were working in Greater Manchester was in 2008, the data shows.

As fire services are staffed by a mixture of full-time and on-call crew the data also shows the equivalent of full-time roles within the operation.

This shows a very similar picture. Between 2002 and 2021 GMFRS lost the equivalent of 808 full-time roles, a reduction of 37.1 per cent.

There was the equivalent of 1,366 full-time firefighting jobs in the city-region in 2021, compared to 2,174 in 2002.

The authorities in Greater Manchester have been approached for comment about the data.