Volume 2 | Issue 1 | February 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of our Community Newsletter! As valued members of our community, we want to keep you informed about the work we’ve been doing here at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service. Every effort we make is for the benefit of our communities, and we believe it’s important to keep you in the loop. We also welcome your feedback, as it helps ensure our fire service truly reflects the needs of the people we serve and remains a source of pride for all of us.
New CFO – Andy Cole
In January 2025 we welcomed our new Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole.
Andy started his fire service career at Castle Cary fire station (Devon and Somerset FRS) as an on-call firefighter before joining the then Dorset Fire and Rescue Service in 2008. He served as an operational firefighter in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area for a number of years.
In early 2021, Andy was promoted to Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Director of Community Safety. In this role, over the last three and a half years, Andy has led colleagues across Dorset & Wiltshire on operational response, prevention, protection and safeguarding. He is also the Chair of the National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) On-call Committee. He received a QFSM in the 2020 Queen’s New Years Honours list for his outstanding leadership and efforts during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole shares: “It’s a privilege to be appointed Chief Fire Officer. I take great pride in the service we provide and the dedicated staff who work extremely hard to ensure we deliver this service to our communities and partners. I am committed to working hard to provide the highest quality service to everyone who lives, works, or visits the beautiful counties of Dorset & Wiltshire. Our communities expect and deserve the very best from us, and I’ll be pushing us all to uphold the highest standards in every aspect of our work. I expect us to strive to deliver the best we possibly can, be accountable, and ensure everything we do reflects the values and beliefs of our service.”
Ramadan 2025
As Ramadan is expected to begin at the end of February, we would like to use this opportunity to say Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim community members who might be observing the month. We recognise and appreciate the values of generosity and unity that Ramadan inspires, and we stand in solidarity with you in celebrating this special time. We are mindful that schedule and times of operation may change during this month and it’s something we’re considering when engaging with our communities or working with our teams. For information on how to support your friends and colleagues celebrating this special time, please click here.
Recent Highlights
Our public video highlights all of the work we’ve been involved in recently, from events we’ve attended to incidents we’ve responded to. These are published three times a year on our YouTube channel and this is the latest video.
Wiltshire Careers Fair
On Thursday 23 January, we attended Wiltshire Careers Fair at Trowbridge County Hall. This was a great opportunity for us to meet the communities we serve and introduce people to opportunities in our service. The Fair was very busy and this meant we were lucky enough to meet and speak with many different people. From having community members try on fire kit and carry equipment, to talking about the wide range of roles and areas of development that we offer, the day was filled with great engagement and two-way learning.
It was really rewarding to see how many people value the fire service and plan to have a career with us. We had a lot to learn from community members too! From asking their general thoughts about the fire service, to what kinds of jobs they think we offer and why or why not they might consider a career with us. It was a great reminder of how lucky we are to work in our communities.
Personal Safety Workshop
Following the success of our first Personal Safety Workshops in 2023, we reached out to staff who weren’t able to attend and asked if they’d like us to offer the event again in 2024. The response was a resounding yes!
Plans for our Personal Safety Workshop started in 2023 after discussions within our internal Women’s Support Network. The group shared feelings of the need for increased physical safety for vulnerable groups of people such as women and lone workers. As a White Ribbon accredited organisation, we felt that the White Ribbon 16 Days of Action was the perfect time to roll out the workshop. This year, on White Ribbon Day (25 November) we ran the workshop again. The workshop focuses on situational awareness, conflict management, practical techniques for safety, safeguarding, the importance of Police reporting, and raising awareness of the importance of tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG).
We could not have done this without the external support of White Ribbon and Dorset Police. It was great to have a room of different teams and partner organisations, come together to openly and safely learn more about such an important topic.
Festive Community Activities
Weymouth Christmas Cracker Open Day
Weymouth firefighters held their popular annual Christmas Cracker open day on Sunday 22 December. It was a well-supported event, with visitors of all ages enjoying a wide range of activities and demonstrations. Santa was ‘rescued’ from the drill tower before taking up occupancy in his grotto; there were craft stalls and refreshments; and children were able to dress up as mini firefighters and enjoy some fun and games! Basic first aid training was available through the day, and there was a chance to look around the fire appliances and the equipment used. £688 was raised for the Fire Fighters Charity, and a further £135 was donated to the Margaret Green Animal Rescue charity.
Supporting Homeless Communities in Swindon
On Saturday 4 January, Swindon Green Watch held another soup kitchen at the fire station for the homeless and vulnerable. The crew were supported by the British Red Cross – whose emergency response volunteers are based at the fire station – and local charity Alternative Angels. The afternoon was a resounding success, with over 40 members of the local community coming in from the cold for company, and to enjoy fresh hot food prepared by the Watch. The next event will be held in March.
Community Requests
We take huge pride in our community visits and always welcome any opportunity to engage with our communities. A new Community Engagement landing page has been developed and is now live on the DWFRS website. This is to be used by all external organisations, schools, organised children’s groups and members of the public, where they have requested one of the following:
- Attendance at a community event
- School visit
- Home education group visit
- Pre-school/nursery visit
- Organised children’s group visit
- Fire safety intervention for children and teenagers who require fire
- Safety education to help with improving safe behaviours
General safety tips for you
We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter. We’ve selected some key tips which we hope will be of use in the coming months:
- Make sure to unplug small devices overnight and don’t overload sockets #UnplugToUnwind – www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/safety-at-home/unplug-to-unwind/
- #SaveSafely Keeping safe while cutting costs – www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/save-safely/
- In the event of a fire ‘Get out, Stay out, Call 999’. – www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/safety-at-home/what-to-do-if-theres-a-fire/
- As the weather improves, avoid open fires or barbecues in the countryside. Always have them in safe, designated areas. – www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/safety-outdoors/heath-fires-and-countryside-safety/
- Take care when cooking near tents and in caravans – www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/safety-outdoors/camping-and-caravanning/