This in from the council, in their own words, Ed
Members of the FBU will strike between 6.30pm and 11.30pm on Saturday 19 October, although the Isle of Wight Council is reassuring residents that its fire and rescue service will continue to respond to life-critical incidents.
Fire cover will be maintained
During strike action, fire cover will be maintained on the Island by non-FBU members who will attend life-critical incidents such as house fires or road traffic incidents. Fire control will not be affected by the strike and will be operating as normal – people should continue to dial 999 in an emergency.
As per the last period of industrial action on Wednesday 25 September, the fire and rescue service will work in partnership with the other emergency services and partner agencies to respond to incidents. Each call will be assessed by the fire and rescue service and resources will be deployed as appropriate with priority given to calls where lives are at risk, so in some cases resources may not be available to be deployed.
Do not to take unnecessary risks
Householders and businesses are advised not to take unnecessary risks during periods of strike action and make preparations to reduce their chances of needing assistance from the fire and rescue service.
This includes taking extra care when cooking or smoking, checking that smoke alarms are working and knowing what to do in an event of a fire and sharing this knowledge with others.
Owners of non-residential premises are also being reminded to prepare by ensuring their legislative duties, such as fire risk assessments and fire safety management, are up to date.
Disagreement at national level
Councillor Phil Jordan, cabinet member for public protection said:
“It is disappointing that the government and the FBU have failed to negotiate a satisfactory agreement meaning a second period of strike action is to take place, but I would like to reassure residents that the council has detailed contingency plans in place to ensure that life critical incidents are responded to by fully trained fire and rescue service officers. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do locally to prevent this strike going ahead as it is a disagreement at national level.”
Steve Apter, chief fire officer, said:
“I would like to reiterate the advice provided ahead of last month’s strike and ask members of the public and businesses to be extra vigilant during the planned period of strike action by checking fire safety arrangements and not taking unnecessary risks.”
Information about the Island’s fire and rescue service along with fire safety advice for homes and businesses can be found at www.iwight.com/fire
Image: kheelcenter under a CC BY 2.0 license
