Dorset and Wiltshire's firefighters rescued more than 300 people from road accidents last year

Dorset and Wiltshire firefighters carried out more than 300 rescues from road accidents last year.

Chief Fire Officer Ben Ansell has been delivering his annual report to the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

The Authority was presented with and discussed the document, which highlights some key successes of Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service over the last year.

These include:

• Over 41,000 children across Dorset and Wiltshire receiving fire, road and water safety education messages

• Almost 13,000 Safe and Well checks undertaken in the community, ensuring that residents are as safe as they can be from fire in their homes

• 5,280 positive fire safety interactions with businesses and over 1,000 fire safety audits in business premises

• Over 14,000 incidents have been attended, which included 86 rescues from fire and 301 rescues from road traffic collisions

• A 5% reduction in accidental dwelling fires from 2018/19

The Authority also received a strategic financial update from the Treasurer which highlighted the financial impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and the work on going by officers to address the forecasted budget gap.

Chair of the Fire and Rescue Authority, Cllr Rebecca Knox said:

"The Coronavirus pandemic has provided some challenges and opportunities for the Authority and the Service.

I am delighted at the positive work undertaken by the Fire and Rescue Service in the past year against the five priorities which is displayed in the Annual Report.

There are some key decisions and work that needs to be undertaken to ensure that, wherever possible, these activities can continue within budget and I am working closely with the Chief Fire Officer to make this happen."

Chief Fire Officer Ben Ansell added:

"The ongoing achievements of DWFRS and the way in which staff have responded to the Coronavirus pandemic are something I am extremely proud of.

Ensuring the Service can continue to deliver against our priorities, serve our communities and deliver a balanced budget, is key.

We are already a lean organisation, which has been judged by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services as 'Good' in all areas of their inspection (effectiveness, efficiency and people).

We are currently in financially challenging times and I continue to work with Members, staff, partner agencies and our communities to navigate our way through this."

• dwfrs