[4] Until the Second World War, local towns had their own fire services run by parish or rural borough councils.

[6] The service would be divided into four districts (later divisions) lettered A-D and initially centred on Aldershot, Fareham, Winchester and Lyndhurst respectively.

[5][6] Following the passing of the Local Government Act 1972, some areas near Christchurch in the south west of Hampshire were ceded to Dorset and the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth became non-metropolitan districts.

[5] Talks existed in 1973 of the Isle of Wight also merging at this point and becoming division E, however lobbying resulting in the island keeping their status as a county.

[6] A notable tragedy to affect the service during this time was the deaths of firefighters Jim Shears and Alan Bannon in the Shirley Towers fire on 6 April 2010.

[16] Following a public consultation in 2018,[17] the plan was approved in 2019[18] with the new authority set to launch on 1 April 2020 but as the decision to merge was only confirmed by the Home Office in early 2020,[3] the date was pushed back to 2021.

[3][20][21] The new badge, logo and branding for the new authority was completed by design company 1721 following feedback from staff and for the desire for a single identity for the new service where both elements had equal partnership.

[22] As part of the merger, the stations on the Isle of Wight are set for investment[3][21] after a report by the shadow authority found they were "considerably below" the standards of the mainland.

Category 'B' areas have a medium density of large buildings and/or population, such as multi-storey residential blocks, shops and factories, and will generally be classified as 'B' risk.

Category 'C' covers lower density, suburban areas and detached properties usually found in smaller towns and villages.

One fire engine should arrive at 'D' risk incidents within 20 minutes, with any further assistance available on-request by the on-scene officer in charge.

HIWFRS have their own control room that is responsible for receiving 999 calls and mobilising appliances across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.