Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Authority is to scrutinise the outcome of a consultation on proposed changes to how the fire and rescue service operates on the Isle of Wight at its next meeting this coming Friday (29th August).
The fire service is facing financial challenges due to funding levels not keeping pace with cost increases. The proposed changes will contribute to closing a forecast £2.911million budget gap for 2026/27.
Nationally, fire and rescue services are facing significant cuts to government grant funding, with the NFCC warning this week that standalone fire authorities could see funding cuts of more than £100million, according to independent modelling.
Extensive data and risk analysis led to HIWFRS developing a number of proposals to make better use of resources, including 3 that related to changes to operational response on the Isle of Wight. A consultation was opened in May to ask for views on the Isle of Wight proposals, 199 people responded to the survey and the results showed:
- 77% of respondents in favour of combining Yarmouth and Freshwater fire stations to maintain performance. This will allow 2 fire engines to operate in the West Wight area of the Island by consolidating people and vehicles at Freshwater fire station. This approach has been used for the past 2 years due to recruitment and retention challenges in Yarmouth and the proximity of the stations. This proposal would save the Service £99,000 (excluding non-staff cost savings) over 2025/26 and 2026/27.
- 66% of respondents supported ceasing operational response from Bembridge fire station. There has been no response from Bembridge since 2020 due to lack of available on-call firefighters. During this time, Ryde fire station received investment to increase staffing to a full-time crew. This proposal would save the Service £135,000 (excluding non-staff cost savings) over 2025/26 and 2026/27.
- 34% of respondents supported the removal of Newport’s Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP). Data shows that removing Newport’s ALP will ensure we still have 4 ALPs service wide, including 1 at Ryde. This proposal would save the Service £1million in vehicle replacement costs (capital expenditure).
In addition to the survey, 2 public engagement events were held, 1 in Yarmouth and 1 in Bembridge and feedback from these sessions is also being presented to the fire authority.
Chairman of the Fire Authority, Cllr Rhydian Vaughan MBE, has said:
“The fire Authority’s role is to ensure that the fire service performs efficiently and in the best interest of the communities of the Isle of Wight and Hampshire.
Article continues below this advertisement “When reviewing the recommendations we will not only be scrutinising the data on risk and operational and financial impacts. We will also be looking beyond the numbers to ensure that any issues raised by residents, partners and staff have been given careful consideration.”
The outcome of the Fire Authority’s scrutiny, consultation and engagement results and data analysis will then be reviewed by the Chief Fire Officer who will take the final decision on the three operational changes.
Should a decision be made to cease operations at Bembridge and combine Freshwater and Yarmouth fire stations this will only relate to operational response, it will not include a decision on future use or disposal of the buildings, this will be subject to further consideration and approval by the Fire Authority at a later date.
Beyond the operational changes outlined in the report for the Fire Authority, the Service is also progressing other organisation-wide changes and savings. These changes did not go out to public consultation but have been subject to internal engagement and consultation with unions and colleagues.
- A pilot to test the removal of some of the less frequently used fire engines at four of our on-call stations where we currently have two fire engines (Romsey, Waterlooville, Petersfield, Lymington). While these stations will remain operational with one fire engine, the second has been removed for the next year. Estimated savings from implementing these pilots is £216,000 (over 2025/26 and 2026/27) which include vehicle costs.
- Introduction of a new type of vehicle that combines the capabilities of a specialist rescue vehicle and fire engine in one. This will mean we can crew the affected stations differently and will mean a reduction in 16 firefighter posts across two stations (Redbridge and Cosham). Feedback from colleagues saw changes made to the initial crewing model proposed, reducing the number of posts impacted from 20. There will no redundancies because of this change, the post reductions will be managed through turnover as people leave the Service and transfers to other stations. Generating a saving of £927,000 over 2025/26 and 2026/27.
- Changing our operational structure reducing the number of middle managers. The savings associated with these changes are £652,000 over 2025/26 and 2026/27.
- A restructured operational officers rota system, which enables a reduction in the number of officers on the Flexible Duty System (FDS) rota. This generates a saving of £126,000 over 2025/26 and 2026/27.
In addition, the service has now implemented a new approach to responding to automatic fire alarms, following an earlier public consultation. Saving approximately £44,000 per annum. This will also create significant non-cashable efficiency savings, for example freeing up over 500 hours a year of firefighter’s time to undertake other activity.
A reduction in the headquarters senior team by 4 posts has also already been implemented and a review and restructure of support staff is ongoing.
Reduce the number of On call Firefighters and you will have what we have on the Island, a shortage during the working day (excluding weekends and bank holidays) as those that work out of their response time area are unavailable = more unavailable pumps, hence the constant need to bring over crews from the big island for anything bigger than a bin fire.
Build a bridge or a tunnel and then we could
use the expertise of mainland stations, same
applies to hospitals.
If there is ever a real extensive emergency on the Island and it happens to be a foggy day / night (Ferrys not running) no help will come. Not sure why they are not asking can the Isle of Wight manage independently so we are all as safe as possible. Reducing engines and equipment may be more efficient and save money until you really need them. We should be much more supportive of our emergency responders on the Island.