OKEHAMPTON is likely to see its fire cover cut during the day in proposals being put before fire service leaders today (Friday).

The fire authority is recommending no longer manning the station’s second appliance with on-call firefighters during the day.

However, the second fire engine could still be crewed by roving full-time firefighters in daylight hours, allotted according to what the fire service is terming ‘risk-based availability’.

Okehampton is among 11 stations across Devon and Somerset, including Tavistock, likely to lose its on-call cover for its second fire engine in the day.

Night-time cover will remain unaffected, through, with two fire appliances on call as they are now.

Chief fire officer Lee Howell said: ‘The second fire appliances at these fire stations are often not reliably crewed during the daytime due to on-call staff leaving the communities where they live to undertake their primary employment.

‘The service proposes to increase the use of these fire appliances by crewing them when required during the daytime hours with roving crews that will undertake preventative activities whilst providing immediate additional emergency response capability.’

Okehampton Fire Station crew manager Austin Kiely said: ‘We’ve been updated on the proposals but it is very unclear at this stage.

‘There is still masses of confusion over the second pump, although we do know the first pump will always be available and crewed 24 hours a day by Okehampton crews.’He added: ‘We have been told that the second appliance could be crewed on a voluntary basis during the day if there are enough of us in town, which to be honest does happen now in effect.’ The fire service is proposing closing two fire stations — at Budleigh Salterton and Topsham — but has shelved plans to close a further six, at Appledore, Ashburton, Colyton, Kingston, Porlock and Woolacombe, following a deluge of objections.There were nearly 4,000 responses to the public consultation on the cuts last year from people across Devon and Somerset. Five petitions with a total of 43,644 signatures were also submitted. All in all people were opposed to the cuts, with 95 per cent of those responding opposing all six closure options.The fire service is recommending removing the third fire engines from Bridgwater, Taunton, Torquay and Yeovil, and the second fire engines at Crediton, Lynton, Martock and Totnes. Plans to operate day crewing only at Barnstaple, Exmouth and Paignton stations have been deferred.The proposals will be debated and voted by the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority meeting at the authority’s headquarters in Exeter today (Friday).The Fire Brigades’ Union has given a mixed response to the proposals.Devon and Somerset brigades secretary James Leslie said: ‘We’re really pleased that they have backed away from shutting some of the stations and reducing cover at other stations.‘They are still going to be losing eight or nine fire engines though and ‘turning off’ fire engines during the day and obviously we are not happy about that.‘However they are addressing the on-call side of things, which we have been asking for for a very long time.‘We are in negotiations at the moment but hopefully the outcome is the on-call crews will be more pay. At the moment there is very little reward for the on-call crews for a lot of commitment.’Okehampton crew manager Austin Kiely said: ‘At the moment, we have a one-off monthly fee for being on-call, which for most of us is 84 hours but quite a lot of us work 120-130 hours a week so anything above the 84 hours is for free. ‘We all do it because it is a community thing. When there’s a fire, it is people you know being affected. We will always do our best for the community whatever is decided.’