Plea to park responsibly to let Wiltshire fire engines through in emergencies

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service are urging people to park responsibly, especially outside of their stations.

It's to stop fire engines getting blocked when they are being called out to emergencies.

The service say their vehicles need at least 3 metres, or a two car width, to get through a space.

Otherwise it can cause delays to their response times, which can have serious consequences if they are being called out to an emergency.

Group Manager David Adamson told Greatest Hits Radio:

"We've seen issues in a couple of different places, one is outside of fire stations, so a couple of our fire stations are close to schools, so we have had issues with parents parking their cars at drop off and pickups times. We've had issues on some of the newer estates where there's limited off road parking, so people park on the roads, sometimes parking on both sides of the road and it's very tight for a fire engine to get round and effectively get to your front door should you have a fire. So in those instances we do carry lots of hose and our hoses do reach quite far but sometimes we would have to park quite a distance away and we'd have to carry our equipment so it could potentially delay us if people are inconsiderate with their parking.

"We don't want any delay to our response of our fire engines. Obviously corporately we have targets to meet when either whole time firefighters are responding from station or are on call. Firefighters initially have to respond from either home or place of work or wherever they are and get into the fire station. Every second and every minute does count if we're going to meet our response standards and obviously get to the incident as quickly and as safely as we possibly can."

This is an issue which the fire service has faced for many years.

In 2017 they released a video showing some of the problems they encounter.

WATCH:

THINK BEFORE YOU PARK

DWFRS have issued some advice for members of the public to try and stop these incidents happening.

They said you should remember:

• Pull in your wing mirrors (don’t forget to flip them out before driving off)

• Don’t park too close to corners, fire engines are larger than cars and need more room to turn

• If you’re parking opposite someone, remember that a fire engine needs 3m, or two car widths, to pass safely

• Make sure your wheels are straight and not sticking out

• Park as close to the kerb as you can

• Always follow the Highway Code and obey the road markings such as yellow lines and box junctions

• In narrow streets, only park on one side of the road where possible

• Make sure you leave enough space for pedestrians on the pavement

• Don’t block driveways

If there are issues with access in your area, you should contact your local authority.

Your town or parish council may also be able to help raise your concerns.

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• dorset and wiltshire fire and rescue
• Parking
• advice