Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service


The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service is the fire brigade of the Isle of Man Government, providing fire and rescue cover throughout the Isle of Man, an independent Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. The service operates under the Department of Home Affairs.

History

The Isle of Man received its first two fire engines from England in October 1803. These were independently operated by an insurance company, and were horse-drawn and hand-operated. In the late nineteenth century legislation was introduced permitting town commissioners to establish local fire brigades. The Peel commissioners did so in 1884, followed by Port Erin in 1903 and Laxey in 1920. Some larger settlements, such as Ramsey and Douglas, had entered into local arrangements with the military or with the privately owned insurance company fire brigades, for local fire cover. The outbreak of war brought calls for a unified fire brigade. In February 1940 the Local Government Act was implemented, establishing a single Isle of Man Fire Brigade, with seven fire areas - Douglas, Laxey, Ramsey, Kirk Michael, Peel, Port Erin and Castletown. These fire areas are the same today.

Structure and ranks

The Island's seven fire stations are located at Douglas, Laxey, Ramsey, Kirk Michael, Peel, Port Erin , and Castletown, matching the 'fire areas' originally specified in the Local Government Act of February 1940.. A total of 110 retained firefighters are stationed across all seven fire stations; additionally Douglas fire station has a permanent watch of full-time firefighters, numbering 53 in total, working in shifts. The service is headed by a Chief Fire Officer, and has a rank structure based on that of the United Kingdom.

Fire Stations/Appliances

Station Call signStation NameDuty SystemAppliances
Foxtrot 1DouglasWholetime/Retained3x WrL, 2x ALP, 1x ERV, 1x FoC, 1x RRU
Foxtrot 2LaxeyRetained1x WrL, 1x L6P
Foxtrot 3RamseyRetained1x WrL, 1x RP, 1x L6P
Foxtrot 4Kirk MichaelRetained1x WrL, 1x L6P
Foxtrot 5PeelRetained1x WrL, 1x RP
Foxtrot 6Port ErinRetained1x WrL, 1x L6P
Foxtrot 7CastletownRetained1x WrL, 1x RP
Foxtrot 9Ronaldsway AirportWholetime3x MFT, 1x H6FT, 1x RIV, 1x L4V

Fire Appliance Glossary/Callsigns

Airport Fire:
In common with most international airports, the Isle of Man Airport, historically known as Ronaldsway Airport, maintains its own fire service. This service cooperates closely with the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service. For joint operational purposes, and for the assigning of radio call signs to appliances, the airport fire station is known as "station 9".

Emergency services on the Isle of Man