Suicide-related callouts to fire services triple in England in a decade | Mental health
Suicide-related calls to fire and rescue services in England have tripled in the last decade; The Samaritans are now calling for mandatory training for firefighters, who they say are struggling to cope with a rise in traumatic incidents.
New figures show fire brigades in England attended 3,250 suicide calls in the year ending September 2025; This is equivalent to 62 calls per week. This was up from 997 calls in 2009-10, when records began.
Samaritans said firefighters are often among the first on the scene when someone is in suicidal crisis, and although they have to make quick, life-saving decisions, they receive no formal mandatory training on how to respond.
Elliot Colburn, the charity’s public relations and campaigns manager, said: “People with this experience tell us they don’t feel adequately trained to deal with someone in suicide crisis. “The data is quite clear that when a person receives some form of suicide prevention training, their confidence in intervening and potentially saving a life increases rapidly.”
There were 5,717 recorded suicides in England in 2024; This number means an increase of 61 compared to 2023. The numbers have been increasing since 2017.
The fire brigade will be called to a suicide-related incident if they have specialized skills or the necessary equipment (for example, breathing apparatus or equipment for working at height or in water).
Medical teams and police will also be called to the scene. Earlier this year the government announced it was mandating protected time for trauma and suicide prevention training for new police officers.
Samaritans have written an open letter to fire minister Samantha Dixon, calling on her to ensure firefighters receive “the same level of training and resources as their police colleagues”.
Mark, who has been a firefighter in the West Midlands for almost two decades, said suicide calls were becoming increasingly common. He said he rarely attended them at the beginning of his career and attended five events last year.
Mark said: “We are seeing more and more suicides or suicide attempts, and this It’s starting to cause a bit of trouble. Often we are first on the scene and must intervene, or at least try to intervene. “While you’re waiting for support and other trained professionals, it can be quite stressful and there can be a lot of pressure on you to take action.”
He said fire calls had decreased following extensive prevention efforts over the past two decades and he hoped the same could be achieved for suicide attempts.
Mark said: “Fires are decreasing significantly but calls for special services, such as suicide, are increasing. “We’ve done a lot of prevention work on fires over the last 20 years, going into schools and getting the message out, which makes it clear that prevention is better than cure, and that’s what we’re hoping to achieve here.
“People see us as brave, burly individuals who deal with these things every day, but it does have an impact on you mentally. My hope is that when people see firefighters being open and discussing this issue, it can break down some of the barriers and encourage people to seek help.”
