Wildfire costs in Hampshire and Isle of Wight spark calls for more fire service funding
Heatwave demands strain finances, prompting calls for government help
A surge in demand during recent heatwaves is placing hundreds of thousands of pounds of extra costs on Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service.
The first two weeks of July alone saw the service face around £160,000 in vehicle movements, overtime and on-call costs.
This figure does not include the recent massive wildfire on the Isle of Wight and the large crop fire near Titchfield.
The wildfire at Headon Warren affected around 25 hectares of woodland and heath, with more than 80 firefighters battling the blaze at its height.
Crews fully extinguished the fire on Monday, July 27, after it burned for five days across the site of special scientific interest.
Members of the fire authority praised the work of firefighters, staff and partners at a meeting on Tuesday, July 28.
Councillor Fran Carpenter questioned the financial impact of large-scale unplanned fires.
The Conservative member asked if officers had plans in place to deal with such exceptional circumstances, which she said were likely to be more frequent in the future.
Her questions come amid warnings that hotter, drier summers bring an increased wildfire risk, with repeated warnings and alerts being issued in recent months.
The service recorded a 17 per cent increase in fires across 2025/26.
This was largely driven by a 54 per cent rise in fires involving grassland, woodland and crops during last summer’s prolonged hot weather.
Chief fire officer Sabrina Cohen-Hatton said the service was set up as a risk-based organisation, whereas policing and the NHS are demand-led.
She said spate conditions and large or protracted incidents bring additional costs.
Fire services can recoup some money through the government’s Bellwin scheme, but Dr Cohen-Hatton said the threshold for triggering this emergency funding was high.
She said financial planning had to provide sufficient resources to be able to respond to increases in demand alongside the service’s baseline requirements.
Dr Cohen-Hatton said: “It can be a challenge from a finance perspective but also from a human resource perspective as well because these are real people who are working incredibly hard to deal with these incidents and I just want to acknowledge that as part of the discussion.”
Authority members heard the fire service received a letter from Isle of Wight Lord-Lieutenant Susie Sheldon thanking firefighters, staff and partners for all their efforts in dealing with the recent wildfire.
Deputy chief fire officer Shantha Dickinson said the service’s five-year safety plan, which runs until 2030, is based on the risks faced and is reviewed every year.
She said the National Fire Chiefs Council lobbies government and raises the profile of what is happening in the county and across the UK.
Rob Sarfas, chief financial officer, said the on-call firefighter budget was most affected by the number of incidents the service attends.
Assistant chief fire officer Rob Cole, who shared the £160,000 figure at the meeting, said: “It is also worth pointing out we do have an island and when you look at the police and other people there is a recognition that running an organisation with an island will have travel costs.
“Some organisations receive extra money for that but us as an authority don’t currently.”
Councillors David Harrison, Liberal Democrat, and David Drew, Conservative, both called on Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham to provide financial support for fire services facing exponential demand.