Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service was the statutory
fire and rescue service
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 ...
covering the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
off the south coast of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. On 1 April 2021, it merged with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to form
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hampshire, including the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, and the county of the Isle of Wight on the south coast of ...
(HIWFRS).
Performance
In March 2007, the
Isle of Wight Council
The Isle of Wight Council is a unitary authority covering the Isle of Wight, an island in the south of England. It is currently made up of 39 seats. Since the 2021 election, there has been an 'Alliance' coalition administration of Independents, ...
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
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hampshire, including the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, and the county of the Isle of Wight on the south coast of ...
.
Later in February 2009, plans were announced for a three-year £8million 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
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hampshire, including the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, and the county of the Isle of Wight on the south coast of ...
on the mainland.
[ ]
The decision was confirmed in October 2020, with a report showing stations were "considerably below" the standard of those 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 station
The Isle of Wight service had ten fire stations, one wholetime/retained, one day crew/retained and eight solely retained, prior to their merger into HIWFRS.
See also
*
List of British firefighters killed in the line of duty
This article is a list of British firefighters killed in the line of duty since 1900. As such, it only lists those firefightersThe term ''firefighter'' is used as it is not gender-specific. Most deaths will have originally been reported as the ge ...
References
External links
*
{{UK fire service
Organisations based on the Isle of Wight
Defunct fire and rescue services of England