Firefighters "over-stretched" as flooding risk continues across the South
The Fire Brigades Union is calling for statutory flooding response funding from the government to help with the demand
We're hearing firefighters across the South are "stretched beyond the right means to be safe", as they face increasing flood challenges and cuts from the service.
The Fire Brigades Union in the South is calling for statutory flooding response funding from the government to help with the demand.
Mark Chapman, Regional Secretary for the union in the South, told us how it's affecting firefighters.
He said: "We are asking far too much from far too little now.
"So we've had 12,000 less firefighters than we did in 2010 and we're getting a higher call of demand across a varying spectrum of calls that we do now.
"So it's not just fire, it's not just car crashes, it's also flooding, hazardous materials, etc.
"Then what we're doing is we're asking for all those different types of calls to be attended by the same number or less firefighters than we had in 2010.
"That's putting huge pressure on the firefighters themselves who know that responsibility falls with them, but also they know that there's going to be a lack of response in terms of support when they need it.
"But they can also foresee that when they're attending one call, there' s no other firefighters available got the other calls that come in thereafter.
"That's why our concern is around statutory flooding response funding.
"We need that funding so that we can increase our establishment, increase the number of firefighters so that we can cope with the demand placed upon us, that we're quite happy and willing to do.
"But we need to be funded properly so that we can actually cater for that as well as our core responsibilities, which is fire and rescue."
It comes as it's found more than 800,000 homes could be at high risk of severe flooding by 2080, as green groups warn of the growing climate change impacts facing UK households.
Communities across the country have been hit by storms, incessant rainfall and flooding in recent weeks, with the South East and south of England experiencing their wettest starts to the year on record.
Around 866,000 homes - equivalent to the total of those in Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield - could be at "high" or "very high" risk from increased levels of flooding by 2080 should global temperatures rise by 2.4C above pre-industrial levels, according to the research carried out by flood risk assessment firm Geosmart on behalf of Greenpeace.
We've reached out to DEFRA for a response.