Firefighters warn cuts to Dorset and Wiltshire fire service 'will put public safety at risk'

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

Poole station, which provides fire cover across the south of Dorset, faces losing a full-time crewed fire engine by April 2025.

Seven fire stations including Sturminster Newton, Wareham, Corsham, and Marlborough also face losing a fire engine by the end of September.

The removal of fire engines at Wimborne, Sherborne and Portland will be reviewed in January 2025.

The FBU says due to staffing cuts, firefighters are currently being sent out in crews of just four firefighters instead of the safe standard of five - adding that response times are longer than ever before.

Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service says it is facing "significant financial challenges" and the plans outlined are to make the service more sustainable.

It added the removal of fire engines will go towards reinvestment towards fire cover and increasing the number of wholetime firefighter posts at Westlea fire station and upgrading Amesbury and Dorchester fire stations from on-call only to on-call and wholetime.

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union General Secretary, said: “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.”

A statement from DWFRS said: "As with many public sector organisations, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service are facing significant financial challenges, and we have a programme of work in place to make sure we are sustainable for the future.

"There is a requirement for all fire and rescue services to review their community risk profile to provide value for money services to our communities.

"Following a comprehensive fire cover review, we are looking at the position, the number and type of our resources to make sure these meet the changing risk profile across our Service area – we need to make sure our resources are in the right place based on community need.

"Fundamental to the fire cover review is maintaining, and where we can, improving our response to emergency incidents, continuing to be there when our communities need us.

"The recruitment process for more wholetime firefighters is starting in the Autumn, in addition to our continued campaigns to recruit on-call firefighters at stations where we need them."

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