THE station officer of North Tawton Fire Brigade said this week he did not believe a suspected arson attack at the premises was connected to the theatened strike over pay by fire officers.
Twiggy Lake was speaking to the Okehampton Times following the attack in the early hours of October 30 which completely destroyed the station van used to transport equipment and for all non-emergency duties.
Quick action by a local resident, who saw the fire in the station yard and called the brigade, prevented the blaze spreading to the drill tower or any buildings.
Twiggy said it was a shock for officers to see a fire at their own premises ? the culprits also attempted to set light to a personnel vehicle in the yard.
He said: ?Why anyone would want to start a fire here is a mystery but I do not believe it has anything to do with the strike because the strike is currently on hold while talks take place.
?And North Tawton is not involved anyway because it is a retained station and has a non-striking policy. It is more likely to be teenagers mucking around, but we will leave that for the police to work out.
?At the end of the day it could have been the station which went up in flames and all the equipment which we use to save lives.
?Having said that, the station van is shared between us, Okehampton and Crediton and is also very important because it is used for everything else but shouts.?
If anyone has information concerning this attack they should call the Police Central Switchboard number on 08795 777444 and ask for Okehampton Police.