Hampshire fire: New fire station opens in Bishop's Waltham after redevelopment

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service unveiled its newest fire station in the village of Bishop’s Waltham yesterday, March 27.

Firefighters have been based in the village since 1960, but have been operating from a temporary site since last February after the old station was demolished. The new building offers much-improved working and training facilities, including a new tower and dedicated community space.

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The state-of-the-art building is also integrated with nesting bricks to encourage wildlife – and one bird has apparently already moved in.

Watch manager Ady Smith said: ‘I am extremely proud to hold this post during such a historic period for the station and town. The excellent facilities we now have access to will help us keep the public safe.

‘As well as training and responding to incidents, we will be able to reach out and engage with our local community from our new station.’

The service’s chief fire officer, Neil Odin, added: ‘This is a modern fire station designed to support our dedicated on-call firefighters in serving their local community.

‘The building, with its new training facilities and bespoke community engagement spaces, will be of great benefit to the people of Bishop’s Waltham, and the wider county, and will help the fire service make life safer. I know that this new station, and the teams who represent it, will continue to be at the heart of the town for years to come.’

The on-call firefighters, who live and work in and around Bishop’s Waltham, respond to incidents via their pagers. The crews also held their first weekly drill night at the new building earlier this month.

Planning permission for this new building was granted in August 2021.

Hampshire councillor Rhydian Vaughan MBE, who is also chairman of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, said: ‘Today’s official opening ceremony marks a new era for our Bishop’s Waltham firefighters and the local community which they live and work within.

‘The bespoke training facilities and focus on community engagement demonstrates that the organisation is at the forefront of modern firefighting. It is an honour to be a part of this landmark day for the fire service.’