Eight fire stations saved from closure for now

A fire service has confirmed plans to close eight rural fire stations to save money have been withdrawn for now, as long as it can secure more council tax funding.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire And Rescue Service (DWFRS) will ask the government for flexibility to increase the fire precept next year.

A meeting of the Fire and Rescue Authority in Salisbury recommended the stations would still close if the request was refused.

More than 6,000 people took part in a consultation about the proposed closures of stations, including Bradford-on-Avon, Wilton, Ramsbury and Mere.

The service will find out in February if it is able to increase its share of council tax, from an average of £1.86 a week per household to £2.02.

At today's meeting, Pauline Church, a councillor in Wilton, asked: "as it is impossible to know DWFRS' financial position in 8 months' time, are we not blindly agreeing to station closures today?"

Dorset councillor Mike Parkes proposed an amendment to take closures off the table, which was voted against.

The fire service said it had already saved £6.75m in the past four years but still has a budget deficit of £1.2m.

Fire authority member and Swindon councillor Kevin Small said: "If we had the money, we would not be going through this process today."

DWFRS said it would carry out a modernisation programme over the next three years.

The plans include introducing smaller response vehicles with fewer crew members and reviewing its estates and buildings.

It would also modernise firefighting PPE and breathing apparatus and make stations more efficient.

Andy Corben, brigade secretary of the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) for Dorset and Wiltshire said its members "have significant safety concerns regarding modernisation, including reducing the number of firefighters on an appliance".

Corben said the FBU was urging the service to "strive for five" firefighters for each appliance sent out.

Last week, Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole said: "We need to secure longer term financial sustainability and stabilise our financial position so we can implement a more structured and coherent modernisation programme to make improvements... to address what we know are changing needs and risks.

"There is different equipment and there are different vehicles that will enable us to serve our communities better, but we need to stabilise our finances."

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