Firefighters won’t immediately respond to reports of flooding in homes and businesses when Storm Ciaran hits, unless there is a threat to life. Historically, fire crews have responded to flooding events on the Island to assist with pumping out properties and reducing the risk of further flooding. However, during last week’s flooding, there was a noticeable lack of fire service support. It has now been confirmed that if you call 999 during a flood, a fire appliance will not automatically be sent – unless it is deemed there is a threat to life. Instead, call operators will triage calls and provide advice on dealing with flooding, including providing contact details for the local authority and Floodline. Sometimes, a fire officer may be mobilised or directed to make contact to further assess the situation, if it is felt the fire service can assist and if the resources are available. As previously reported by Island Echo, 135 phone calls were made to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service during last week’s flooding but just 3 incidents – 2.2% of calls – were attended to by fire engines. Stew Adamson, Deputy Chief Fire Officer of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, has said:
“We recognise that seeing flood waters rise and enter your home or business is very distressing. In the event of major flooding, we work closely with other agencies to deliver a coordinated response. “As a fire service our operational priority is to protect life and our resources will always be focused on making sure people are safe. Our response plans follow national guidance”.
Jeff Walls, Group Manager for the Isle of Wight at HIWFRS, has said:
“The safety of people on the island is our priority. Flooding has a devastating impact on our communities and while we would like to be able to help everyone to protect and limit the damage to their property, we need to ensure that we have crews available to be able to immediately respond to calls where there is a threat to life.”
