Work has begun on a national agreement intended to improve firefighters' health and wellbeing. The Fire Brigades Union says the first meeting of the government group developing the Firefighters Concordat has taken place. It will consider a national health monitoring offer and further research into the risks firefighters face. For crews, the key question is what regular, meaningful support will look like in practice.
This follows the government's commitment to a concordat and consistent, regular health checks, announced in April 2026. The FBU's August/September 2026 magazine confirms the working group has now met — this is not a newly launched screening scheme, and the content, delivery and timing of any national offer remain under development.
Why This Matters to Firefighters
The FBU's long-running DECON campaign has repeatedly called for routine health monitoring, better recording of occupational exposure, and reduced contamination risk. The government's research brief for the concordat spans cancer, cardiovascular health, musculoskeletal conditions and mental wellbeing.
Beyond the research itself sits a more human question: what happens when a firefighter changes service, retires, develops symptoms, or needs help years after an exposure?
Evidence discipline: the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans. This does not mean every firefighter will develop cancer, nor does it establish a particular screening test for every firefighter.
What Has Been Promised, and What Is Still Open?
| Government commitment / stated direction | Questions the programme must answer |
|---|---|
| A Firefighters Concordat with sector partners | Who signs it, how are commitments measured, and what happens if provision differs by service? |
| Consistent, regular health checks | What tests, how often, for whom, and how will outcomes be followed up? |
| Research and better health monitoring | What data will be gathered, how will privacy be protected, and how will findings change practice? |
| Support during and after service | How will retired firefighters access support and have occupational history recognised? |
Have Your Say
What should a national offer include: exposure records, periodic medical checks, mental health support, access after retirement, or something else? Vote in the poll below — and please avoid sharing personal medical details publicly.
What Firefighters Are Already Telling Us
We want to hear from the workforce: what occupational health checks do you already receive, and what would make a national offer genuinely useful? We're gathering examples from wholetime, on-call, airport and industrial firefighters, recognising that employers and arrangements differ across the sector. These will be individual, attributed experiences — not a representative national statistic.
We'll be seeking comment from an FBU health/DECON representative, the NFCC's health and wellbeing lead, a fire service occupational health specialist, and serving and retired firefighters, along with a timeline and scope from government once the working group is able to share it.
Where This Stands
The concordat is now being developed. Its value to firefighters will depend on what regular checks and follow-up support actually provide, and whether those arrangements work throughout a career and after service. What would you want to see included?
Bespoke cancer screening, annual checks, national funding arrangements and a start date have not been settled. The government has discussed NHS screening access and regular checks, but the precise offer remains to be defined. We'll update this article as the working group publishes further details.
Sources
- Government announcement, 16 April 2026 — gov.uk
- FBU: Work begins on firefighter health Concordat — FBU Magazine, August/September 2026
- FBU gains TUC support for the Firefighters Concordat — FBU News, 15 September 2026
- FBU DECON campaign — fbu.org.uk
Comments (1)
We NEED health monitoring to protect the people who sometimes die for us!