Cambridgeshire fire station closures 'could affect response times'

Manea fire station is one of three at risk of closure

The closure of three village fire stations could affect emergency response times, a watch commander has warned.

Cambridgeshire's fire authority will meet later to discuss closing stations in Manea, Kimbolton and Sutton.

More than 1,300 people have signed a petition calling for the stations to be saved.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said the closures would redirect resources where they are most needed.

Locals say the stations - currently staffed by retained firefighters - are vital to ensure fast response times in rural parts of the county.

Under the proposals, resources would be moved to stations in Ely and St Neots, allowing them to be fully staffed seven days a week.

Acting watch commander for Manea, Rhys Fenn, said: "If there is not a fire appliance in Manea then we will not be able to hit that 12-minute attendance time within the village itself."

Manea's acting watch commander, Rhys Fenn, said local response times would be slower if the station closed

He added: "There is not another appliance that can mobilise and proceed to Manea within that specified time. If the station is closed we are almost admitting that Manea will never have that response time again.

Conservative councillor Charlie Marks, who represents Manea on the parish council and on Fenland District Council, says the proposal "smacks of a two-tier fire system".

"Manea is a very rural community - there are a number of agricultural accidents that happen, it is not just fires," he said.

"The people who are making this decision need to come and visit and realise what this is about. It will certainly affect our community and put lives at risk."

Fenland councillor Charlie Marks said lives would be put at risk by closing rural stations

The fire service said it regularly reviewed "how and where we use our firefighters and fire engines to ensure we can respond to incidents as quickly as possible".

Assistant chief fire officer, Jon Anderson, said: "The idea is to move firefighter numbers at some lower available and lower risk areas to crew a wholetime fire engine in daytime hours at weekends in both Ely and St Neots, where there is greater demand and risk.

"This will not only improve fire cover in those towns but will also help us to better guarantee fire cover in the surrounding areas and villages. "We can appreciate that any talk of a community potentially 'losing' its fire station may concern some people, but a fire station is just a garage for a fire engine.

"The fire engine can only respond if it has a crew available to take it out. More often than not, in many areas, a crew isn't available and so when an incident occurs, it is a fire engine from outside of the village that attends."