Cuts to Dorset and Wiltshire fire service will put public safety at risk, firefighters warn

Thursday, 22 August 2024 06:05

The Fire Brigades Union has warned that plans to cut Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service will “put homes, communities and public safety at risk".

Plans published by fire service bosses this week threaten to downgrade fire stations across the region, decreasing fire cover across large areas. Eight fire stations are set to lose a vital fire engine, leaving many with just one appliance.

Under these plans, there will be no guaranteed firefighter availability between Swindon and Salisbury. Sturminster Newton, Wareham, Corsham, and Marlborough face losing an appliance by the end of September. This is despite the serious risks posed by the Corsham Underground, a vast series of mines, and the age of historic high streets such as Marlborough.

Poole, which provides fire cover across the south of Dorset, faces losing a wholetime (full time) crewed fire engine by April 2025. The removal of fire engines at Wimborne, Sherborne and Portland will be reviewed in January 2025.

Due to lack of resources, it is currently taking longer than ever before for firefighters to arrive at a fire in Dorset and Wiltshire – 10 minutes and 46 seconds in 2023. Due to staffing cuts, firefighters are currently being sent out in crews of just four firefighters instead of the safe standard of five.

The FBU has warned that plans to cut the service further will put the public at greater risk.

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said, “Plans to cut Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service will put homes, communities and public safety at risk.

“Firefighters are already under immense pressure to keep communities safe, doing more with less. Since 2010 we have lost 1 in 5 firefighters to cuts in the UK.

“Slashing resources and downgrading fire cover means people waiting longer for help, but every second counts at a fire. The fire authority must put public safety before cost-cutting and stop these dangerous cuts."

Val Hampshire, FBU executive council member for the South West, said, “Firefighters in Dorset and Wiltshire are standing up for public and firefighter safety by opposing these dangerous cuts.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in the knowledge that their local fire station is equipped to help them in case of a fire. Axing fire engines and removing night cover from stations will push the service to breaking point across the region, with scant resources spread far too thin.

“Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service and fire authority should focus on addressing the crisis in firefighter recruitment instead of inflicting deeper cuts.”