Flood action: NFCC calls for funding-backed duty for England flood rescues

Flood action call after Storm Chandra flooding

Fire chiefs have called for government flood action after Storm Chandra brought flooding, travel disruption and school closures across the UK.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said flood risk in England is rising faster than the legal and funding framework that supports emergency response, leaving fire and rescue services operating without statutory clarity.

Storm Chandra was described as the latest in a series of severe weather events affecting the UK early this year.

NFCC linked the disruption to February anniversaries of major storms including Ciara, Dennis and Jorge in 2020 and Dudley, Eunice and Franklin in 2022, which caused widespread flooding, evacuations and prolonged emergency response activity.

The UK Met Office named Storm Chandra on 26 January 2026.

Funding-backed statutory duty proposed for England flood response

NFCC has called for a public consultation on introducing a statutory duty for fire and rescue services in England to respond to flooding incidents that pose a risk to life.

The organisation said this would bring England into line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where statutory duties already exist, while providing clearer expectations for the public and emergency responders.

Phil Garrigan, Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said: “Fire and rescue services in England are already stepping in when floods threaten lives, often in extremely challenging and dangerous conditions.

“But as climate change drives more frequent and severe flooding, it is no longer credible for this life-saving work to sit outside a clear statutory framework.

“England is increasingly exposed to flood risk, yet fire and rescue services are being asked to respond without the legal clarity or funding that exists elsewhere in the UK.

“A public consultation on establishing a statutory duty is an essential first step, but it must be backed by proper investment. If services are expected to respond to life-critical flooding incidents, they need the funding, equipment and training to do so safely and consistently, now and into the future.”

Any new statutory duty would need initial capital investment alongside ongoing funding to ensure services can respond safely and effectively.

Rising flood risk and operational demand

Estimates from the Environment Agency put 6.3 million properties in England at risk of flooding, with projections rising to around 8 million by 2050.

Operational data shows fire and rescue services attended around 14,900 flooding incidents annually in the five years to March 2019, rising to about 18,350 each year in the five years to March 2025, an increase of 23%.

Since 2016/17, overall incident numbers have increased by 9.9%, while flooding incidents have risen by 16.4%.

Fire and rescue services operate alongside local authorities, police and ambulance services during major flooding incidents and have developed specialist water rescue capability, including recent deployment to Mozambique in January 2026 as part of the UK International Search and Rescue team.

England remains the only UK nation without a statutory duty for fire and rescue services to respond to flooding incidents that pose a risk to life, with duties in Scotland in place since 2005, Northern Ireland since 2012 and Wales since 2017.