Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service dealt with two incidents during today's industrial action by the Fire Brigades Union.
These were both dealt with by local firefighters responding as normal:
• A fire involving a narrowboat on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Bradford on Avon at 11.28am, which was tackled by a crew from the town.
• A small fire involving rubbish at Salisbury racecourse at 1.25pm, which was extinguished by a crew from Wilton.
Crews at ten of Wiltshire’s 24 fire stations were unavailable to respond to incidents during the strike, including Trowbridge and Chippenham, but the Service had contingency plans in place to maintain cover across the county using on-call firefighters and alternative locations as appropriate.
As a result, there were 11 appliances available ‘on station’ and a further four ‘on call’.
As of 2pm, all striking crews returned to duty.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer John Aldridge said: “Despite having ten stations unavailable because of the strike, our business continuity plans worked well and this is down to the support of those staff who crewed appliances around the county.
“We still hope that a resolution can be found by the FBU and the Government to stop further strikes being called in the future.
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