In the week following the removal of one of the 24-hour crewed fire engines at Poole in Dorset, retained firefighters at the station were called out to 15 incidents – five times the number predicted by the service.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service removed Poole’s second wholetime appliance in November, with just over one week’s notice, as part of a programme of cuts to eight fire stations.
Poole fire station provides cover across the south of the region and is the busiest in the county.
Incidents attended in the first week following the cut included a house fire; water rescue; an attempted suicide; a road traffic collision; and a fire alarm in a high-rise tower. FBU officials described it as a “week of chaos”, calling for the service to reverse the cuts.
