Faulty fire station door traps engine in station

Repairs to the door are anticipated to be completed by the end of the week

A fire engine is currently unable to leave in a fire station in West Sussex due to a faulty bay door.

The station, in Burgess Hill, is awaiting "a specialised part" to fix the door and contractors are expected to fix the issue this week, West Sussex County Council said.

The authority said all emergency calls were still being responded too "as normal".

The other fire engine at the station is able to operate as usual, it added.

Former firefighter Tony Morris, who founded the Stop The Cuts campaign, wondered why the repairs were taking so long and said when he was in the service, it would have been fixed "within 24 hours".

The spokesperson said the Joint Fire Control centre, which covers Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex, would always ensure that the nearest and quickest appliance was sent to an incident.

They added: "Earlier this year, we also increased our response cover at Burgess Hill Fire Station, which has resulted more firefighters being immediately available to respond to incidents in the area.

"Crews now provide an immediate response capability [all day], seven days a week – an increase from the previous level of immediate cover which was provided five days a week."

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