BUSHEY FIRE STATION TO CLOSE

Despite locals putting up a strong fight, Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) has today confirmed that Bushey Fire Station will close. The station, in Rudolph Road, will permanently close its doors on March 31, 2014. The closure was confirmed as part of the Integrated Risk Management Plan, which sets out what resources the fire and rescue service needs and where they need to be to provide comprehensive cover to the county. Since the relocation of Watford Fire Station in 2009, the council believe it is quicker to send fire engines from Watford to incidents in Bushey than to call in retained fire fighters from the Bushey station. A petition was set up by campaign group Save Bushey Fire Station and received more than 400 signatures. Herstmere MP James Clappison said he supported the campaigners. The vast majority of locals also said they were against the planned closure in a public consultation earlier this year. Peter Wilson, a fire fighter at Bushey Fire Station, said the council had never given the station a real chance and had made staffing the station difficult. He commented: “We need more fire stations not less. We just want to crew it properly. Give us a chance it’s all we’re asking. I can’t see how any area would be safer without a fire station.” However, HCC has decided to close the station despite the knowledge that it “won’t be a popular decision”. Richard Thake, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “I know this won’t be a popular decision locally, and it’s not one we’ve made lightly. It comes on the back of a comprehensive review of what kind of incidents the fire and rescue service is called to, where they are and when they happen. “I am confident that the closure won’t affect the safety of residents or businesses in Bushey, who will still be protected by highly-skilled crews from Watford and other nearby stations. The response times and level of cover will remain high and the fire and rescue service will be able to respond to incidents in Bushey quickly and appropriately.” Read more in January’s My Bushey News.