‘Life-threatening’ warning as fire engines to be axed across Dorset

The fire service across Dorset and Wiltshire is to remove up to eight fire engines and appliances, claims the Fire Brigades Union. This could severely reduce the ability of fire stations to respond to emergencies in the local area, warn residents.

The stations that will potentially lose an engine include Wimborne, Poole, Wareham, Portland, Sturminster Newton and Sherborne and two in Wiltshire.

According to reports, Andy Corben, the Fire Brigades Union secretary for Dorset and Wiltshire, said: “After 14 years of poor funding from central government and the restricted ability to raise council tax, Dorset & Wiltshire is faced with the removal of eight frontline appliances to save more money.”

Reports of the proposal have caused growing concern among local residents. In a letter to Dorset View, Anthony Oliver and Chris Brown, honorary Freemen of Wimborne Minster, expressed their worries.

They said: “The Wimborne Station answers around 400 calls a year and they do a lot of joint calls with Poole, so it will certainly affect fire cover in this area ,which apart from a large increase in new properties being built also has a high number of thatched premises in the area and not forgetting many valuable properties such as the Minster and Kingston Lacy to name just two.

“Fires are not the only thing they attend but also the many vehicle accidents that occur on our overcrowded roads. There are almost daily accidents on the A31 in East Dorset and frequent serious injury/fatal collisions that the Fire and Rescue Service attend.

“This is a serious and life-threatening change we should all be concerned about.”

When contacted by Dorset View, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) could not confirm how many fire appliances are being considered for removal, nor which stations will lose engines, but did not deny the reports.

In a statement, a spokesman for 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. 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. 

“We are working with our trade unions and keeping our staff informed when decisions are made.”