"Firefighters Overwhelmed by Rising Suicide Callouts: Samaritans Demand Mandatory Training. A disturbing trend is emerging in England's fire services, with a staggering threefold increase in suicide-related callouts over the past decade. According to new figures, firefighters attended 3,250 such incidents in the year ending September 2025, a rate of 62 per week. The surge has left many in the profession struggling to cope with the traumatic nature of these incidents, prompting Samaritans to call for mandatory training to equip firefighters with the skills and support needed to deal with this growing crisis. As the UK's fire services face an unprecedented challenge, the question remains: can they adapt to meet the demands of this escalating issue?"
Exclusive: Samaritans call for mandatory training for firefighters amid rise in incidentsSuicide-related callouts to fire and rescue services in England have tripled in the last decade, with Samaritans now calling for mandatory training for firefighters, who they say are struggling to deal with the increase in traumatic incidents.New figures show that fire services in England attended 3,250 suicide callouts in the year ending September 2025, the equivalent to 62 callouts a week. This was up from 997 callouts in 2009-10 when records began.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
