Farmers, growers and those in rural communities are being asked to air their views on a Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) consultation, which ends on May 15 and could see retained stations lost to the rural communities they support.
DWFRS has announced that the retained fire stations at Charmouth, Cranborne, Hamworthy and Maiden Newton in Dorset, alongside Bradford-on-Avon, Mere, Ramsbury and Wilton in Wiltshire could close to address a funding shortfall of more than £1.2 million.
Protecting frontline services
Gavin Fauvel, estate manager for the Cranborne Estate, who is also a retained firefighter locally said there was still time for people to have a say and get involved in the consultation. The NFU Dorset member said while all budgets were stretched he and many others firmly believed frontline services should be protected and he called for the retained fire stations to remain in place, serving the community.
“Fires do not respect time, every second counts,” he said. “That is the same for accidents on our roads and extreme weather events like flooding where the fire service is desperately needed.
“We have homes, businesses, livestock, fields of crops and a range of special habitats and areas that need that protection, so I’d urge that the consultation weighs everything up.
“That includes the resources we have locally, including smaller vehicles to access fires and to get to incidents in isolated areas quickly and of course the experience and local knowledge we have.
“You can’t underestimate the importance of that unique, local involvement especially when you are trying to get to an isolated fire, accident or incident safely but at speed.
“I’d like to think this is not a foregone conclusion and that people’s strong views on this will be heard. “I just hope the fire stations can remain as they are vital for the rural communities and others they support.”
Critical role of fire stations
For farmers, rural fire stations play a critical role in responding to agricultural emergencies, including barn and machinery fires, livestock incidents, wildfires and road collisions on narrow rural lanes. There are concerns that increased travel distances could affect not only emergency response times but also insurance and risk management planning for rural businesses.
Wiltshire dairy farmer and NFU chair Peter Shallcross, from Tisbury, said with ever increasing extremes in weather, including hotter, drier summers the risk of wildfires had increased dramatically.
He said: “Retained firefighters are close by to tackle issues as soon as that alarm is raised, for small incidents or something more major.
“Sometimes firefighters find themselves battling multiple blazes or incidents in multiple areas, so I think we need to keep what we have and hopefully a way can be found to safeguard them.
Invaluable local service
“The wildfires we have seen on Salisbury Plain, over the border in Dorset at Holt Heath and elsewhere have caused huge amounts of damage over the years, especially when the ground is bone dry.
“Regardless of the size of fire or incident though, having that local service remains invaluable.
“We continue to work with the fire service on all manner of issues, we support the important work they do and ill continue to call for additional resources to help tackle incidents.
“The NFU would urge people to get involved if they haven’t already and respond by 5pm on 15 May – we need all voices on this as it’s just too important.”
A final decision about the closures is expected on 30 June.