Isle of Wight fire service review rejected

The plans would have sometimes seen four, rather than five, firefighters on each engine

Proposed changes to the Isle of Wight's fire service have been rejected by the council's cabinet.

Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service had planned to cut the number of full-time firefighters from 58 to 50.

The proposals were described as a threat to safety by the council's scrutiny committee and Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

A cabinet meeting asked the chief fire officer to return with revised plans in six months.

The fire service's review included shift patterns being altered in a bid "to better match demand".

It also proposed reducing the number of fulltime firefighters crewing an engine from five to four, and cutting 15% of the service's workforce, but it was rejected by the council's cabinet.

The council said it would proactively seek to recruit retained firefighters, and that the Fire Brigades Union would be invited to join the council's joint consultative management meeting.

Council leader Dave Stewart said: "In the daytime our fire and rescue service are dealing with road traffic accidents, and we had the recent water shortage. The demands of the service have changed. We need to make sure our people are in the right place at the right time."

He said jobs would not be cut until the cabinet has considered an impact report.

After the cabinet meeting chief fire officer Neil Odin described the vote as a "useful steer".

"Now we can continue to work on making this fire and rescue service as good as it can possibly be," he added.