Message from Duncan.
Baschurch Fire Station is at great risk of being closed. Budget cut-backs forced on the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service by the Government leave the Fire Authority with no alternative than to consider the permanent closure of four retained (part-time) fire stations within the county. One of these has been identified as Baschurch.
You may be aware that our Fire Station is staffed totally by retained firefighters, who leave their homes or places of work at a moments’ notice to respond to a variety of emergencies, both within their allotted boundary as well as assisting other surrounding fire stations as required.
If the Fire Station is closed, then the nearest fire engine will be sent to our area. This may well be Shrewsbury, provided that those engines are not committed to an incident within their area, or Oswestry, which is staffed by retained firefighters. Oswestry is the busiest retained fire station in Shropshire, and it is very possible that they may also be committed or unable to provide the necessary crew to respond. In any case, it is a fact that whereas at present we can rely on a fire engine arriving at a fire, road accident or indeed a variety of emergencies within our area within 5-10 minutes of a 999 call being made, the time taken to travel from either of these fire stations to the Baschurch area may well be in excess of 20-25 minutes.
The results of this action being taken will be devastating. Loss of life, both at a fire or in a road accident, will obviously be more likely. Fire will spread more as the delayed fire engines are on their way, and the loss to property will increase.
The Baschurch Parish Council intends to fight this decision, but we need your support. We ask that you take the time to write to our Member of Parliament, Owen Paterson, and to the Fire and Rescue Service, expressing your concerns for the future of our fire station. If we all do our bit, then our voice will be heard. To sit back and do nothing is not an option. Details of who
to write to are provided on www.saveBaschurchFireStation.co.uk/howcanIhelp/
-- Yoland Brown Brownhill House B&B, Ruyton XI Towns, nr. Shrewsbury SY4 1LR ShACC - Shropshire Alternative Car Club www.eleventowns.co.uk www.eleventowns.com www.ShACC-uk.org Tel: 01939 261 121 Fax: 01939 260626
