Specialist trained firefighters in reach of communities and an
overhaul of fire and rescue assets to the value of almost £100
million have been announced.
Through the new programme, teams of specialist
firefighters will be positioned in key areas and
ready to respond to fires
across England delivering help to people
on the ground more quickly and taking pressure
off local services as the number of incidents
continues to grow.
The teams have undergone intense training over spring
and summer, upskilling in the latest strategies like
tactical burning, and travelling to South Africa and Poland
to learn from the international community.
In the wake of devastating wildfires last year, which
included widespread damage across North York Moors
National Park, today's announcement will provide
crucial protection to precious countryside and
communities.
State-of-the-art kit, like dedicated off-road
vehicles, will also be
available through a wider £97 million
investment to fund the largest scale upgrade
ofNationalResilience assetsin almost twenty
years.
Building Safety Minister, , said:
This country benefits from a dedicated fire and rescue service
and as incidents continue to evolve in
complexity, it's critical that we back those on
the frontline with the latest equipment.
Last year saw some of our most devastating wildfires in
recent history and as we head into peak
season, we're getting on and delivering the resource,
training and assets needed to minimise the escalating risk.
The Fire National Resilience programme wasestablishedafter
the 9/11 terrorist attack, recognising that specialist
capabilities, personnel and resources were needed to
enable fire and rescue services to respond effectively to
anational-scale catastrophic incident.
The significant cash boost will ensure the dedication of our fire
and rescue services is matched with the most up-to-date
assets, funding a huge overhaul ofexisting vehicles and
equipment.
This will crucially strengthen the country's national response to
the largest and most complex of incidents, from flash flooding to
raging wildfires and collapsed structures.
These specialist capabilities were used over
1,000 times in 2025 alone to tackle a diverse
range of incidents, with devastating
wildfires identified as a growing demand on the
service.
The wildfire teams will be locatedstrategically
and hosted by fire and rescue services in Lancashire, Greater
Manchester, Northumberland,Londonand South
Wales - deployable to incidents across England by the
end of June.
