The firefighters’ union has warned that plans to cut fire and rescue services in Dorset and Wiltshire would “put homes, communities and public safety at risk”.
The plans, released by the fire service executive this week, threaten to reduce the quality of fire stations across the region, reducing fire coverage across large areas. Eight fire stations will lose a fire engine, and many will be left with just a single appliance.
Poole, which provides fire protection across south Dorset, faces the loss of one full-time fire engine by April 2025. The removal of fire engines in Wimborne, Sherborne and Portland will be reviewed in January 2025.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “Plans to cut fire and rescue services in Dorset and Wiltshire put homes, communities and public safety at risk.”
“Firefighters are already under enormous pressure to keep communities safe and do more with less. Since 2010, we have lost one in five firefighters in the UK to cuts.
“Cutting resources and downgrading fire protection means people have to wait longer for help, but in a fire every second counts. Firefighters must put public safety before cost-cutting and stop these dangerous cuts.”
Under these new plans, Sturminster Newton, Wareham, Corsham and Marlborough face the loss of one unit by the end of September. This is despite the serious risks posed by the Corsham Underground, a huge number of mines and the age of historic high streets such as Marlborough.
Due to a lack of resources, it is currently taking longer than ever 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 teams of just four firefighters, instead of the safe norm of five.
Val Hampshire, FBU Executive Council Member for the South West, said: “Everyone has the right to be assured that their local fire station is equipped to help them in the event of a fire.”
“The cancellation of fire engines and the removal of night shifts from the stations will push the service across the region to its limits, as scarce resources are spread far too thin.
“The fire and rescue services and the Dorset and Wiltshire fire authorities should focus on tackling the crisis in firefighter recruitment rather than making even deeper cuts.”
