Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service
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.
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 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service on the mainland.
On a 2009 assessment by a government watchdog, the service was found to be performing well, getting a three star rating out of four, after a poor rating in 2005.
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.Station Callsign | Station Name | Duty System | Appliances | Call Sign | Appliance | Call outs 2011 | Call outs 2015 |
H71 | Newport | Wholetime/Retained | 2x WrL, 1x ALP, 1x ICU, 1x HRT, 1x WRU, 3x GPV, 1x PM+x2 HVP, 1x OIC | H71P1, H71P2, H71S1, H71I1, H71H1, H71PM1, H71PM2, H71V1, H71O1 | WT P1 RET P2 HRT ALP ICU | 534 112 63 17 NA | 507 76 13 12 15 |
H72 | Cowes | Retained | 1x WrL | H72P1 | RET P1 | 69 | 57 |
H73 | East Cowes | Retained | 1x WrL, 1x FST, 1x ICU | H73P1, H73S1, H73I1 | RET P1 FST | 66 6 | 61 2 |
H74 | Ryde | Day Crewed/Retained | 2x WrL, 1x ALP, 1x BASU, 1x GPV, 2x L4V, 1x PM+MDU, 1x OIC | H74P1, H74P2, H74S2, H74T1, H74T2, H74M1, H74O1 | WT P1 RET P2 RET P3 RET P4 ALP | 244 54 10 | 246 55 3 |
H75 | Bembridge | Retained | 1x WrL | H75P1 | RET P1 | 39 | 17 |
H76 | Sandown | Retained | 1x WrL | H76P1 | RET P1 | 118 | 62 |
H77 | Shanklin | Retained | 1x WrL | H77P1 | RET P1 | 148 | 131 |
H78 | Ventnor | Retained | 1x WrL, 1x WrC | H78P1, H78W1 | RET P1 RET WRC | 76 4 | 64 7 |
H79 | Freshwater | Retained | 1x WrL, 1x CRV, 1x WrC | H79P1, H79C1, H79W1 | RET P1 RET WRC | 41 NA | 57 8 |
H80 | Yarmouth | Retained | 1x WrL | H80P1 | RET P1 RET ICU | 43 15 | 17 NA |
Fire Appliance Glossary/Callsigns
- Water Rescue Ladder : P1 / P2 /P3
- Aerial Ladder Platform : A1
- Incident Command Unit : C1
- Heavy Rescue Tender : R1
- Water Rescue Unit : R2
- Breathing Apparatus Support Unit S1
- Incident Support Unit : S1
- General Purpose Vehicle : S1/S2
- Light 4x4 Vehicle : T1/T2
- Prime Mover + High Volume Pump : T9
- Prime Mover + Mass Decontamination Unit : T8
- Co-Responder Vehicle : V1
- Water Carrier : W1
- Station Officer Vehicle : O1/O2