Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MWWFRS) has seen a rise in staff absences amid what the Fire Brigades Union is calling a “crisis across the UK’s fire and rescue services.”

Data obtained by Accident Claims Advice (ACA) via a Freedom of Information Request to the service has found that work-related stress, depression, anxiety and PTSD were the most common conditions cited for staff mental health absences in the last three years.

Between 2021 and 2024, a total of 203 Mid and West Wales Fire Service staff took at least one day off work due to mental health with 67 going on to subsequently leave the service altogether.

In 2021/22, 68 staff absences were recorded by the Fire Service and a further 52 the following year.

The figure reached a three-year high in 2023/24 with 81 mental health staff absences logged by MWWFRS.

The Fire Service disclosed the most common reasons cited included; anxiety, depression, stress, stress at work, anxiety at work and post traumatic stress.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) General Secretary, Matt Wrack, told ACA: “We are facing a mental health crisis in the fire and rescue service. Since attending traumatic incidents is an unavoidable part of the job for firefighters, mental health support is vital.”