Would you know who to call for help if your home suffered flooding on the same scale as in the Sheffield area?  My first thought would be to ring fire brigade, but the chances are they may not be able to help.

The excellent East Anglian Daily Times reports today how the Suffolk Fire Brigades Union feared it could not cope if there was flooding on a similar scale in their county. A change in policy means that they do not automatically attend all local flooding incidents, householders could be referred to an specialist rescue company if the flooding was not deemed a threat to life, or if the fire service’s equipment could not help.

Steve Collins, Suffolk secretary of the FBU, does not think members of the public were aware that their council tax  did not cover assistance from firefighters in all instances of flooding. He believes it is a problem which needs to be addressed. I’m not sure if this is common practice throughout the country. And an outraged retained fire fighter is quoted as saying:

“We find it disgusting. It’s an embarrassment. They don’t think it is their problem. If anything ever happened in Suffolk, they would send two officers to have a look and then call in the nearest specialist rescue service, which would probably be Cambridgeshire.

“We find it insulting – a job we used to do with no problem we are now being told we can’t.â€?

If the government is serious about tackling climate change, which has been suggested as a possible cause for this devastating summer flood, then swift mopping up operations need to be instantly available to help displaced householders. Why was this change of policy introduced in the first place? I suspect as a cost-cutting exercise.