, 23 fire engines a day have not been available in London so far this month – or about one in six of the capital's 142 engines. Wennington, a village about 15 miles from central London, was gutted by a wildfire last year Getty Images Europe A report found that the fire brigade's response to the wildfire was hampered by staff and resource shortages (PicturePA) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A peak of 28 fire engines was unavailable on July 16, the union said. The London Fire Brigade's (LFB) only fireboat, essential for river rescue and fighting fires, has been unavailable for 13 shifts. The lack of vehicles has also been down to a lack of staff, too, data obtained by the FBU sound. Its figures include appliances 'off the run' – unavailable – because of a lack of firefighters. Around one in five firefighter jobs – about 1,100 since 2010 – have been cut even as extreme weather increasingly becomes the norm. This is 'putting lives and homes){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
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One year since wildfires tore through London, experts are sounding the alarm over how ‘unprepared’ the UK is to deal with heatwaves.
A heat storm has engulfed Europe, North America and Asia this week, sending the mercury rising to record-breaking highs.
Firefighters in Greece and Spain’s Canary Islands have been battling wildfires for days, devastating wildlife and sending thousands fleeing as the heat turns forests into tinderboxes.