There is no way a fire appliance would be sent to an incident in this Country with a sole driver/fire fighter onboard.
Yes, my visits to UK fire stations has always shown that they are well staffed. Though, I allow for the possibility that more rural UK stations might dispatch with one only. We are rural, and dispatch driver only, because it could be five minutes before the second volunteer arrives at the station to leave with that truck, and really you would like that second firefighter to take a second truck anyway. I have taken a pumper truck, and been applying water to a fire alone, before the next firefighters arrived to help - rare, but it happens....
The theme is (thread drift aside) that the emergency services will plan well what a response should be based upon the call, and then more overwhelm than underserve, and we would hope that citizens would appreciate that, rather than criticize it!