Fire services are now responding to record numbers of suicide related call-outs according to latest figures, prompting Samaritans to call for mandatory suicide prevention for all firefighters.
Today, Samaritans publishes an open letter to Samantha Dixon MBE MP, Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy, calling for fire crews to be provided with suicide prevention training and wellbeing support.
Since 2015, the number of suicide incidents that fire services are responding to has risen year on year, with firefighters now attending an average of 62 per week*. Despite the fact that helping suicidal people is a regular occupational occurrence that’s sadly increasing, there is no required training on suicide prevention for fire fighters, nor consistent wellbeing support to ensure their own mental health is being cared for.
Suicide calls outs have tripled over the past decade for fire services across the nation**, painting a concerning picture of the rising pressure on all emergency services.
Today’s letter is the latest step in Samaritans’ United With the Frontline campaign which seeks greater support for emergency services workers who are often first on the scene of a suicide-related crisis. Last year, the charity revealed that ambulance services across the nation responded to 32,143 more suicide and self-harm incidents than the previous year***. The campaign asked the Government to ensure all emergency services have the resources and requirement to provide workers with the suicide prevention training and support they need to carry out their job safely and reduce lives lost to suicide.
The charity’s call did not go unheard as the Government recently announced plans to introduce protected time for suicide prevention and trauma training for some police officers as part of their Policing Reform White Paper. Samaritans is now encouraging the public to sign an open letter asking the Fire Minister to follow the Home Office’s example and do the same.
“Fire fighters are sadly attending rising suicide-related call outs without always having the right training and support to manage these challenging incidents, leading to missed opportunities to save lives. With suicide call outs reaching a record high this year, this must change. We’re urging the Fire Minister to take note of the positive steps made by the Police and afford the same improvements to fire services, as a bare minimum. Anyone who agrees that emergency service workers deserve the tools and confidence to give the best possible support to a person in crisis can sign our letter and stand United with the Frontline.”
Elliot Colburn, Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager at Samaritans
“The training currently on offer does not reflect the reality we face on the ground. We attend suicide-related incidents regularly and, in many cases, we are the best placed to intervene in those critical moments, practically speaking. “However, a half hour, text heavy online course in Suicide prevention is nowhere near enough to prepare you for a real person in crisis who intends to take their own life. These situations are almost always complex and high-pressure. Without proper training, we are being asked to manage life or death situations without the tools we need. We need proper, role play based training delivered in person by credible and trained personnel that gives us the confidence to respond effectively. That kind of training should be standard across all fire and rescue services in England.”
Mark Randle, West Midlands Firefighter of nearly 20 years
Notes to editors
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The open letter can be found here: Samaritans_Open_Letter_to_the_Fire_Minister.pdf
* Fire and rescue incident statistics
***Samaritans contacted each of the 11 Ambulance Services in England from May 2025 asking:
“How many suicide attempts and self-inflicted incidents did your service respond to in these years? Please also indicate what percentage of total incidents were suicide attempts and self-inflicted incidents if possible” for years 2020 to 2024 inclusive. Eight of the 11 services were able to respond. If you require this data please contact [email protected]
About Samaritans
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