Speaking before the meeting, Warwick firefighter Darren Emms said the station attended 500 incidents last year. “If they shut us and Kenilworth you will have Leamington covering Warwick, Leamington and all the rural areas,” he said.
“Warwick is the busiest retained station in Warwickshire. Who is going to take on these 500 shouts?
“We had a garage fire in Warwick on Sunday night where Leamington were two to three minutes behind us. Those two to three minutes are crucial.”
Inside, the county’s deputy chief fire officer Glenn Ranger said the proposal to close seven stations, including Warwick, was about “deploying the right resources, at the right time, all of the time.”
Other stations facing the axe are Brinklow, Kenilworth, Bedworth, Studley, Fenny Compton and Bidford.
Mr Ranger said more engines would be available all of the time across Warwickshire, that firefighters would be better-trained for car crashes, flooding and smaller fires, and would fit ten times more smoke alarms than at present.
Article
