TAVISTOCK could see its fire service cover cut by half during the day if a proposal by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is approved tomorrow (Friday).

Last summer, the service announced it was to make significant changes in order to try and save £8.4-million from its budget and to improve the ‘efficiency and effectiveness of the service’.

Seven options were put forward for consultation to the Devon and Somerset public, which included the loss of more than 30 fire engines across the two counties, of which Tavistock would be directly affected.

Tavistock Fire Station has historically had two fire engines (appliances) to cover its vast area, which includes Dartmoor, but under the proposed plans, Tavistock would lose one fire engine during the day.

Night-time cover would remained unchanged for Tavistock in the proposals which will be decided tomorrow by the fire authority at the Devon and Somerset Fire Service’s headquarters in Exeter.

A spokesperson for Tavistock Fire Station said that 2019 had seen a further increase in calls — up to 296 incidents, including 47 calls, with both or all the town’s appliances used.

‘Following the consultation we were informed that the service has proposed to go ahead with the removal by day of Tavistock’s second appliance. We would like to thank the members of the public who have raised their concerns and were able to fill out the consultation with your views.

‘This was a huge disappointment for us all at Tavistock Fire Station. We will, however, do our best to keep you and our community as safe as we can with the resources available to us.’

With the removal of a second appliance by day for Tavistock, recommended plans for the town could see ‘risk-based availability’ introduced to cover this loss. This would involve whole-time firefighters being made available during the day to move to where the risk is highest in both counties.

Lee Howell, chief fire officer for the service, said: ‘During the daytime hours, people are generally awake and fire is often detected in the very early stages allowing for it to be extinguished before it develops significantly. However, people tend to be significantly more mobile during the daytime, moving from their homes to places of work increasing road related risk.

‘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.’

The public consultation to discuss the plans was open to residents in Devon and Somerset and in total, 3,818 responses were received: 3,232 completed questionnaires, 205 written submissions and 381 email responses. In addition, five petitions were submitted with a total of 43,644 signatures.

Residents of the two counties were concerned that reducing capacity would result in some areas remaining uncovered by a fire service for significant periods while crews will have to travel further to deal with emergencies, resulting in an unacceptable increase in risk to both members of the public and the firefighters.

One Tavistock resident, whose home was devastated by an electrical fire in November last year, believes that if two crews were not available at the time her home could have received further damage.

She said the first crew from Tavistock arrived within six minutes and the second crew within eight. Yelverton and Bere Alston also attended but they didn’t arrive until later due to distance.

‘Had it not been for the two crews from Tavistock the fire would have caused much more damage to the upstairs of the house,’ she said.

‘The speed and proficiency of the crew was amazing and I cannot thank them enough for getting the blaze under control in such an efficient manner.

‘The cuts will affect the residents of Tavistock and this needs to be addressed and halted urgently.

‘Thankfully we were out of the house when the blaze started but this fire could have easily started at night. Lives could be lost if we lose our second appliance.’

If the proposals go ahead Okehampton will also lose its second appliance during the day and Budleigh Salterton and Topsham fire stations will close.