Firefighters across the country including here on the Isle of Wight are set to strike twice during the first week in November.
Members of the Fire Brigades Union will strike between 18:30 and 23:00 next Friday (1st November) as well as between 06:00 and 08:00 on Monday 4th November, although the Isle of Wight Council is reassuring residents that its fire and rescue service will continue to respond to life-critical incidents.
During the strike action, fire cover will be maintained on the Island by non-FBU members who will attend life-critical incidents such as house fires or road traffic incidents. Fire control will not be affected by the strike and will be operating as normal – people should continue to dial 999 in an emergency.
As per the last period of industrial action on Wednesday 25th September, the fire and rescue service will work in partnership with the other emergency services and partner agencies to respond to incidents. Each call will be assessed by the fire and rescue service and resources will be deployed as appropriate with priority given to calls where lives are at risk, so in some cases resources may not be available to be deployed.
Strike action planned for last Saturday was called off at the last minute following progress in talks with the Government over the firefighter pension row.
Householders and businesses are advised not to take unnecessary risks during periods of strike action and make preparations to reduce their chances of needing assistance from the fire and rescue service. This includes taking extra care when cooking or smoking, checking that smoke alarms are working and knowing what to do in an event of a fire and sharing this knowledge with others.
Owners of non-residential premises are also being reminded to prepare by ensuring their legislative duties, such as fire risk assessments and fire safety management, are up to date.
Steve Apter, Chief Fire Officer, said:
“I would like to reiterate the advice provided ahead of last month’s strike and ask members of the public and businesses to be extra vigilant during the planned period of strike action by checking fire safety arrangements and not taking unnecessary risks.”
Information about the Island’s fire and rescue service along with fire safety advice for homes and businesses can be found at www.iwight.com/fire
