On Tuesday, 10 February, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Authority met in Salisbury under a cloud of growing public anger. At the heart of the storm is a proposal to close eight fire stations across Dorset and Wiltshire and axe 96 firefighter jobs. The plans have now been put out to public consultation, but for many residents the fight to stop them has already begun.
In villages like Maiden Newton, the response has been swift and determined. A packed Parish meeting voiced widespread outrage, and locals have formed an action group to resist the closure of their fire station. A quiz night at the local pub collected 50 signatures in a single evening. Campaigners are now going door to door, urging neighbours to sign petitions and prepare formal objections. What began as concern has hardened into a county-wide campaign.
Sam Strudwick, a local resident and one of the founders of the action group, is clear about what is at stake.
“Our local fire stations don’t just provide service in the local village; they provide an emergency response to surrounding villages and assist in major emergencies across the county. As well as responding to fires, they provide vital flood assistance and rescue and other duties.”
In rural counties like Dorset and Wiltshire, geography is not an abstract consideration. Distance matters. Minutes matter. And response times can mean the difference between a contained blaze and a destroyed home, between rescue and tragedy. According to campaigners, average response times in the area are already among the lowest in the country. If Maiden Newton were forced to rely on engines travelling from Dorchester or Yeovil, local firefighters warn that response times could easily double.
“This is not the time to cut our fire services,” Sam said. “Climate change has already led to more extreme weather; last year we had record heath fires and now regular flooding. These cuts will put lives and properties at risk.”
The reference to climate change is not rhetorical flourish. Dorset has seen increasingly severe heath fires during prolonged dry spells, alongside more frequent flooding episodes during heavy rainfall. Fire crews are no longer responding only to traditional house fires; they are frontline responders in climate-related emergencies, rescuing residents from floodwaters, managing wildfire outbreaks, and supporting other emergency services during major incidents. Campaigners argue that reducing capacity now, just as demand becomes more volatile and complex, is dangerously short-sighted.
Fellow campaigner Lilian echoes the warning.
“The fire service is already stretched to the limit. If the closures go ahead, there is no doubt that lives will be put at risk. The government revenue support grant to Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service has been cut under successive governments and is due to reduce by £1.2 million over the next three years. This must stop.”
Behind the closures lies a familiar story of tightening budgets. Campaigners argue that the planned reduction in central government funding, £1.2 million over three years, is driving decisions that will have real-world consequences for rural communities. They see the closures not as an inevitability but as a choice.
“These cuts are a political choice,” Sam added. “The big fossil fuel companies receive billions of pounds in subsidy from our taxes and these are the multinational corporations fuelling the climate change our services then have to deal with.”
For many involved in the campaign, this is about priorities. They question why essential emergency services are being pared back while vast sums continue to flow elsewhere. In their view, frontline public safety should not be balanced against corporate subsidies or long-term austerity targets.
The campaign is now broadening beyond individual villages. Residents are linking up with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), calling on people across Dorset and Wiltshire to engage fully with the public consultation process. Public meetings are being organised; Charmouth has already held a large one, and campaigners hope to replicate that turnout in Maiden Newton. Support is growing from local councillors and trade unions.
Sam’s message is direct:
“We want people involved in the consultation meetings and submitting their views online or by post. This needs to happen across the county. Let’s get organised and build a big campaign across Dorset and Wiltshire. Cuts cost lives. Save Our Fire Stations!”
The consultation process will now become a battleground of submissions, public meetings and political pressure. For campaigners, the stakes could not be clearer. In rural communities where emergency cover is already stretched thin by distance and terrain, removing stations is not simply an administrative reshuffle. It is a fundamental change in how quickly help can arrive when homes are burning or floodwaters are rising.
Across Dorset and Wiltshire, a simple slogan is beginning to carry weight: Save Our Fire Stations.
