Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country |
 England |
| County |
 Isle of Wight |
| Agency overview | |
| Employees | 242 |
| Chief Fire Officer | Steve Apter |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 10 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England.
In March 2007, the Isle of Wight Council voted to maintain the independence of the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue service, instead of a merger with the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.[1]
Later in February 2009, plans were announced for a three-year £8 million replacement programme changing part-time stations to full-time. The move would be done in an attempt to reduce response times to 999 alerts. It could see Ryde's fire station change to full-time, and possibly Sandown's, but part-time stations would continue to operate as normal in rural areas. The extra investment would also minimise chances of a future merger with the rest of Hampshire.[2]
On a recent assessment by a government watchdog, the service was found to be performing well, getting a three star rating out of four. This has been part of steady improvements in recent years after the 2006 when the service was judged as two-star. In 2005 the service was one of the few in the country to be rated as poor by the commission.[3]
Fire Stations/Appliances
The Isle of Wight has a total of ten fire stations, one wholetime/retained, one day crew/retained and eight solely retained.[4]
| Station Callsign | Station Name | Duty System | Appliances |
|---|---|---|---|
| T01 | Newport | Wholetime/Retained | 2x WrL, 1x ALP, 1x ICU, 1x HRT, 1x WRU, 2x GPV, 1x PM+HVP, 1x CRV |
| T02 | Cowes | Retained | 1x WrL |
| T03 | East Cowes | Retained | 1x WrL, 1x FST |
| T04 | Ryde | Day Crewed/Retained | 3x WrL, 1x ALP, 1x BASU, 1x GPV, 2x L4V, 1x PM+MDU |
| T05 | Bembridge | Retained | 1x WrL |
| T06 | Sandown | Retained | 1x WrL |
| T07 | Shanklin | Retained | 1x WrL |
| T08 | Ventnor | Retained | 1x WrL, 1x WrC |
| T09 | Freshwater | Retained | 1x WrL, 1x CRV, 1x WrC |
| T10 | Yarmouth | Retained | 1x WrL, 1x CRV |
Fire Appliance Glossary/Callsigns
- Water Rescue Ladder (WrL): P1 / P2 /P3
- Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP): A1
- Incident Command Unit (ICU): C1
- Heavy Rescue Tender (RT): R1
- Water Rescue Unit (WRU): R2
- Breathing Apparatus Support Unit (BASU) S1
- Foam Salvage Tender (FST): S1
- General Purpose Vehicle (GPV): S1/S2
- Light 4x4 Vehicle (L4V): T1/T2
- Prime Mover (PM) + High Volume Pump (HVP): T9
- Prime Mover + Mass Decontamination Unit (PM+MDU): T8
- Co-Responder Vehicle (CRV): V1
- Water Carrier (WrC): W1
References
- ↑ "Prevent the merger of the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service with the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service". www.fireservicemerger.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
- ↑ "Isle of Wight County Press - "IW fire service may go full time"". www.iwcp.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ↑ "Isle of Wight County Press - "Good rating for Island fire service"". www.iwcp.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ↑ "Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service - fire stations". www.iwfire.org.uk. Retrieved 2009-01-02.