Date: 22nd August, 2024
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.
Whilst the data suggests that the removal of some fire engines is the right thing to do, and this presents essential savings to help our financial challenges, this is also a programme of work that includes some reinvestment and will enable us to improve fire cover by 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 .
The detailed data analysis of seven on-call stations, informed the decision to remove the second fire engine at Corsham, Marlborough, Sturminster Newton and Wareham fire stations. The first fire engine will remain at these stations to ensure we can be there when our communities need us. The decision has also been made to remove the second fire engine at Poole fire station, which is crewed by wholetime firefighters. Although Poole fire station will maintain the first fire engine, crewed by our wholetime firefighters as well as retain the third fire engine crewed by on-call firefighters. These decisions are made under the delegation of the Chief Fire Officer and all changes will take effect by April 2025.
Dependant on our financial settlement for 2025/26 we will review the proposal to remove the second fire engine at another three on-call stations – Sherborne. Portland and Wimborne. This review will happen in January 2025.
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.