The New Year has brought about a new shift pattern for firefighters in Ryde, who will now be on station 7 days a week.
Up until now Ryde Fire Station at Nicholson Road has been ‘day crewed’. This means between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00, from Monday to Friday, firefighters have been ready to respond to an emergency at a moments notice. Outside of these hours a retained duty system (RDS) has been in operation meaning crews respond from home and typically turn out 1 to 3 appliances in 4-6 minutes.
From today (Tuesday 1st January), firefighters will now be on station some 12 hours a day for 7 days of the week. Appliances will be rolling out of the bay doors within 90 seconds of being alerted between 07:00 and 19:00, reducing the response times in the town and surrounding areas for 4 hours a day during the week and 12 hours a day at the weekend.
A retained system will still be in operation between 19:00 at night and 07:00 in the morning though, as well as during the day when further appliances are required.
The changes made by the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service haven’t been without controversy… 5 full time firefighters have been lost from Ryde as their temporary contracts have not been renewed, which sparked fears back in November that the reduction could mean the station will only have 1 pump ‘on the run’. There have also been views expressed that Ryde will be mobilised out-of-town more frequently.
Ryde Fire Station is currently home to 3 pumping appliances, an aerial ladder platform, a 4×4 Land Rover and a Mass Decontamination Unit. However, draft proposals made last year suggest the potential removal of 1 appliance and the aerial ladder platform.
