Four in five fire and rescue services have changed emergency response plans due to concerns over firefighting water supplies

• 81% of fire and rescue services have changed response plans in areas where access to firefighting water is a concern.  

• Inadequate water supplies are creating growing risks to public safety and affecting firefighters’ ability to respond effectively to incidents.  

• During this summer’s Stourbridge wildfires, water pressure issues created operational challenges for crews tackling a major incident.  

• Hydrant installation and maintenance charges increased by an average of 85% between 2014 and 2024, placing additional pressure on fire service budgets.  

• NFCC is calling for firefighting water supplies to be recognised as a critical public safety requirement and for greater accountability and performance measures for the water sector. 

Inadequate water supplies for firefighting are creating growing risks to public safety, Fire Chiefs are warning. This comes as new evidence shows that more than four in five fire and rescue services have been forced to change emergency response arrangements in areas where access to water is a concern. 

Published today, NFCC’s new Water Supplies for Firefighting Position Statement highlights increasing concerns about the reliability, affordability and resilience of the infrastructure firefighters depend on to protect communities. 

A survey of UK fire and rescue services, conducted by NFCC in summer 2026, found that 81% of respondents had changed their planned level of response in areas with known difficulties accessing sufficient firefighting water. The findings also revealed that more than half of services had introduced additional measures because of significant water supply outages. 

The operational impact of these challenges was highlighted during this summer’s major wildfire in Stourbridge, where West Midlands Fire Service experienced ongoing issues with water pressure over several days. During the height of the incident, firefighters had to rely on a High Volume Pumping Unit to help maintain water supplies, while replenishing a water carrier took almost 40 minutes at one stage because of reduced pressure. Water company representatives were deployed to the scene and joined multi-agency briefings as crews continued to manage fluctuating supplies throughout the incident. 

Fire and rescue services have reported concerns including inadequate water flow and pressure from hydrants, delays in the installation and repair of firefighting infrastructure, inconsistent engagement from water companies, and rising costs associated with hydrant maintenance and replacement. NFCC evidence shows that hydrant installation and maintenance charges increased by an average of 85% between 2014 and 2024, with fire services reporting limited transparency over how those costs are calculated. 

NFCC is calling for water for firefighting to be recognised as a critical public safety requirement and for fire and rescue services to be formally recognised as key stakeholders in the future regulation and planning of the water sector. 

National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Chair, Phil Garrigan, said: 

“Firefighters cannot fight fires without water. That sounds obvious, yet our evidence shows four in five fire and rescue services have had to change response plans because of concerns about firefighting water supplies. 

“We saw the impact of these challenges during the Stourbridge wildfires, where issues with water pressure created additional operational difficulties for crews tackling a major incident. 

“The demands on fire and rescue services are growing, with larger wildfires, extreme weather and increasingly complex risks. As the task becomes more challenging, the very least firefighters should be able to rely on is access to the water they need to protect people and property.” 

The position statement warns that growing pressures from climate change, drought, population growth, housing development and emerging infrastructure such as data centres and battery energy storage systems are increasing demand on an already stretched water network. 

NFCC is calling for clear national standards for firefighting water provision, stronger accountability for water companies, greater transparency around hydrant charges, improved consideration of firefighting water needs in planning decisions, and better access to water network information to support emergency response. 

NFCC believes forthcoming water sector reforms provide an important opportunity to improve resilience and ensure firefighting requirements are properly reflected in future infrastructure and investment decisions. 

ENDS 

Notes to Editors 

• NFCC’s Water Supplies for Firefighting Position Statement sets out concerns regarding the adequacy, affordability and resilience of water supplies available for firefighting. It can be found here. 

• An NFCC survey conducted during summer 2026, and set out in the Water Supplies for Firefighting Position Statement, found:  

• • 81% of responding fire and rescue services had changed planned response arrangements in areas with known difficulties accessing sufficient firefighting water. 

• • 58% had introduced additional measures in response to significant water supply outages. 

• • Half reported encountering insufficient water flow or pressure somewhat or very frequently. 

• NFCC is calling for improved regulation, stronger national standards and greater recognition of fire and rescue services within water planning and infrastructure decisions. 

• The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) is a charity and an independent membership association and the professional voice of the UK Fire and Rescue Service. NFCC supports fire and rescue services to help save lives and keep local communities safe.