The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service ( gv, Shirveish Mooghey as Savail Ellan Vannin) is the fire brigade of the

Isle of Man Government The Isle of Man Government ( gv, Reiltys Ellan Vannin) is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, the personal representative of Charles III. The executive head is the Chief Mi ...

, providing fire and rescue cover throughout the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, an independent Crown dependency located in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

between England and Ireland. The service operates under the

Department of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

History

The Isle of Man received its first two

fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...

s 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 (Fires) Act was implemented, establishing a single Isle of Man Fire Brigade, with seven fire areas -

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

Laxey Laxey ( gv, Laksaa) is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Man. Its name derives from the Old Norse ''Laxa'' meaning 'Salmon River'. Its key distinguishing features are its three working vintage railways and the largest working waterwhee ...

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

Kirk Michael Michael ( gv, Maayl) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Ballaugh, Jurby and Michael. Histo ...

, Peel,

Port Erin Port Erin ( gv, Purt Çhiarn, meaning ''lord's port'') is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it ...

and Castletown. These fire areas are the same today.

Structure and ranks

The island's seven fire stations are located at Douglas (station 1), Laxey (station 2), Ramsey (station 3), Kirk Michael (station 4), Peel (station 5), Port Erin (Rushen) (station 6), and Castletown (station 7), matching the 'fire areas' originally specified in the Local Government (Fires) Act of February 1940. (See airport fire service, below, for station 9). A total of 110 retained (part-time) firefighters are stationed across all seven fire stations; additionally Douglas fire station has a permanent watch of full-time firefighters, numbering 32 in total, working in shifts. The service is headed by a Chief Fire Officer (Kevin Groom, appointed 2013), and has a rank structure based on that of the United Kingdom.

Fire stations and appliances

The service has seven fire stations. The largest, at Douglas, is crewed by both wholetime

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

s and

retained firefighter In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a retained firefighter, also known as an RDS Firefighter or on-call firefighter, is a firefighter who does not work on a fire station full-time but is paid to spend long periods of time on call to respond to eme ...

s, whilst the other six stations at Laxey, Ramsey, Kirk Michael, Peel, Port Erin, and Castletown, are staffed by retained crews only. Retained firefighters make up around two thirds of the total complement of just over 150 firefighters.

Ronaldsway Airport Fire and Rescue Service

In common with most international airports, the

Isle of Man Airport Isle of Man Airport ( Manx: ''Purt Aer Vannin'', also known as Ronaldsway Airport) is the main civilian airport on the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island at Ronaldsway near Castletown, southwest of Douglas, the island's c ...

, historically known as Ronaldsway Airport, maintains its own independent fire service. This service cooperates closely with the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service. The airport fire station is now considered too small for its current appliances and crews, and a contract has been awarded for the construction of a new £200,000 fire station, starting in 2022-2023.

Emergency services on the Isle of Man

Isle of Man Ambulance Service The Isle of Man Ambulance Service ( gv, shirveish charbid-lheihys) is a sub-division of the Department of Health and Social Care. The Isle of Man has ten ambulances and ten paramedic cars; operating from three bases: Douglas (Ambulance Service ...

Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps The Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps is one of the five emergency services maintained by the Isle of Man Government, to provide a range of emergency responses on the Isle of Man, an independent Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea between Eng ...

Isle of Man Coastguard The Isle of Man Coastguard also known as the Manx Coastguard is the coastguard service of the Isle of Man Government. It is responsible for the provision of coastguard services throughout the Isle of Man, an independent Crown dependency located ...

Isle of Man Constabulary The Isle of Man Constabulary ( gv, Meoiryn-Shee Ellan Vannin) is the national police service of the Isle of Man, an island of 85,000 inhabitants, situated approximately equidistant from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. Structures a ...

(Police)

References

External links

* {{UK fire service Emergency services in the Isle of Man 1940 establishments in the Isle of Man