Calls for urgent investigation into state of fire service after Isle of Wight hotel blaze
The FBU says the response was 'slow and scrambled'
An “urgent investigation” is needed into the state of the fire service following its response to a major Isle of Wight hotel fire earlier this month, an Isle of Wight councillor has said.
East Cowes independent Cllr Karl Love wrote to Karen Lucioni, the Alliance chair of the environment and community protection committee, County Hall officers and council leader Phil Jordan following the October 18 Cygnet Hotel fire.
In a statement last week, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said five fire engines had to be ferried across the Solent to the Isle of Wight to provide cover as a “slow and scrambled” response to the blaze unfolded.
The FBU said the Sandown emergency saw a “scrapheap challenge” approach to running a fire service with firefighters “forced to scrape together resources”.
Cllr Love’s email, which was sent to all Isle of Wight councillors, said: “An urgent investigation into this by yourself and Silver Group, our emergency planning team, needs to be conducted because this (FBU) report suggests our Island is currently exposed to significant dangers, unable to respond effectively to incidents on our Island.
“What mitigations are now going to be put in place to address these matters?
“Councillors and the general public need to be reassured now of the actions being taken to address these matters. It makes the replacement of the New East Cowes Fire Station even more urgent to be built.”
In September, the Isle of Wight Council granted Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) consent to build a replacement station on East Cowes’s York Avenue.
Dave Hunt, FBU brigade secretary for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, previously said: “What we saw on Saturday (October 18) was a scrapheap challenge approach to running a fire service – firefighters were forced to scrape together resources which should be on hand day and night.
“There are supposed to be 11 fire engines on the Isle of Wight – but due to cuts most of those sit empty. We are now facing yet more cuts to firefighter numbers. That will make things even worse.
“Residents on the Isle of Wight have a right to expect that if a fire happens, the right amount of help will come in the right amount of time. Clearly, they can’t count on that.”
Responding to the FBU, HIWFRS’s assistant chief fire officer Rob Cole said: “On receiving the first 999 call, two fire engines and an Aerial Ladder Platform were mobilised to the incident immediately, with the first fire engine arriving at scene in seven minutes 54 seconds.
“Five minutes after the initial call a third fire engine was mobilised as repeat calls were received within fire control.
“All the resources needed to respond to the incident, bar one fire engine, came from Island stations.
“Moving fire engines to provide fire cover to an area where local resources are dealing with a large incident is standard practice for all fire services across the UK.
“We acknowledge the FBU’s concerns about government funding, as the cost of delivering our vital services has surpassed the funding we receive.”
He added HIWFRS was working with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) to “advocate for increased funding from central government”.
Councillors Jordan and Lucioni have been contacted for a comment.