FIREFIGHTERS and staff at Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service will be able to bid farewell to the organisation in style after thousands of pounds were set aside for employee celebrations.

In his weekly newsletter at the end of last month, outgoing Chief Fire Officer Simon Routh-Jones revealed that stations and departments could apply for up to £25 per employee to organise dinners, days out or other activities.

The money was released for the festivities by the Wiltshire and Swindon Combined Fire Authority ahead of the merger with Dorset Fire and Rescue Service on April 1, the only condition attached is that it must not be spent on alcohol.

Wiltshire has had its own fire service, previously in the form of the Wiltshire Fire Brigade, for 68 years.

Next month it will become a combined authority in a bid to increase efficiencies and save costs, most of the savings will be made from merging corporate and back office functions.

The decision to release the money was announced at a public meeting in December by Chairman of the Authority Cllr Christopher Devine who said it was in recognition of their gratitude to staff.

Although a claim by the entire workforce of approximately 700 people could have resulted in a cost of £17,500 the authority decided to limit the allocation to just £16,000.

Cllr Devine said: “The Authority debated in front of the public whether or not we should put aside a sum of money for celebrations by all the Fire and Rescue personnel to mark the end of an era.

“It was passed by an almost unanimous vote that we would put aside £16,000 so they could use it to spend on buffet lunches or dinners so they could all gather and mark the occasion.

“Over the last year our staff have been under tremendous stress not knowing if they would have jobs, especially the corporate staff. There has been a lot of uncertainty.”

In his newsletter, CFO Routh-Jones said: “My thoughts were that you may wish to hold a function, go for a meal or enjoy an evening out as a team.

“Any such events must be held before March 31 and should be in the spirit of fire service values.”

The cost of the gesture will be less than 0.07 percent of the £24.6 million annual budget in the hands of the Authority, about 60 percent of which is generated from a portion of council tax called the precept.

Cllr Devine added: “Over the last few years we have been saving and trying to make cuts so we had this money available, it was either going to the new authority or we could use it for this.

“It was voted on by a body made up of elected representatives in public.

“I thoroughly approved of the decision and I believe it is the least we could do for our staff after what has been a very challenging year.”