Massive cash boost for fire service

A £46 million scheme to build 10 new fire stations across Staffordshire is pressing ahead.

It was announced today that the first one – a retained station in Rising Brook, Stafford – will become operational in June 2010, with building work starting next summer.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority hopes to award the contract for the massive private finance initiative to the company Fire Support. Under the scheme, three new stations are to built and seven re-built on the existing fire station sites.

The re-built full-time Cannock station is due to open in October 2010, while a new full-time station will open in Belgrave, Tamworth, in August 2010, and the existing part-time one in the town will be re-built on its Lichfield Street site by July 2011. Chief fire officer and chief executive Peter Dartford said the stations would include facilities which could be used by the wider community. He said full-time stations would include fitness facilities which could be used by supervised groups.

Stations will also allow for more community safety activities to take place, such as student firefighter courses.

Mr Dartford said: "We are leading the way in the UK with these purpose-built, community-embracing fire stations.

"Our current fire stations were built at a time when we were almost solely a reactive service just responding to emergencies. They were certainly not built for the proactive service we are today or the service we are going to be in the future – sitting at the heart of the community.

"This is a really exciting time and we look forward to engaging with the public so that they can help us shape the use of the community facilities. These buildings don't look like our traditional fire stations. This is because they have been specifically designed to be inviting to the public and they allow for the integration of the community within the fire station."

Initial work on the Rising Brook site will begin next June, with building starting in late August. Its new firefighters started their training at the service headquarters this week. The part-time station will complement the existing full-time station in Beaconside.

Area commander for Stafford Tim Hyde said: "This is fantastic news for Stafford. "Not only will the town benefit from increased fire cover, there will also be an additional facility for groups to use."

Elsewhere, a new full-time fire station is being built in Sandyford, Stoke-on-Trent, while full-time stations in Hanley and Newcastle-under-Lyme are being re-built, as are retained stations in Uttoxeter, Burslem and Kidsgrove.