"It took them 14 minutes to reach us!" Lancashire fire service responds to concerns over Wesham response times
“It took the fire brigade 14 minutes to reach us! Those minutes were the longest, most terrifying of my life...”
Lancashire’s fire service has responded to concerns that it took crews 14 minutes to reach a woman’s home after a fire broke out in her kitchen.
“When I saw the flames, I dialled 999. The minutes that followed were the longest, most terrifying of my life,” said mum Rachel Starmore, from Wesham.
“It took the fire brigade a 14 full minutes to reach us,” she said, sharing her experience on a local Facebook group.
“When they arrived on scene I asked them through tears why it took so long. What they told me chilled me...”
Rachel was shocked to learn that her local fire station in Wesham was ‘not running’, meaning crews from Lytham and Blackpool were tasked with responding to the incident, 15 miles away.
“The crews had to rush all the way from Blackpool just to get to us,” said Rachel, who shared her experience to make others in the Wesham and Kirkham areas aware.
“I had absolutely no idea our local station wasn't operational and it terrifies me to think how many other families are living in the area right now without knowing that help is possibly 14 long minutes away.
“Despite them driving as fast as they could, it felt like a lifetime. My main goal with this post is simply to raise awareness that our local fire station is not currently running.
“My children and I are safe and that is all that matters to me right now. I just want our local community to be aware of this, so everyone can take extra precautions to keep their homes and families safe.”
Rachel said a quick-thinking neighbour rushed to her rescue with a fire extinguisher.
“We were so close to losing everything we own - our home, our memories, everything. The ONLY reason my children and I still have a roof over our heads today is because of the quick thinking of an incredible neighbour.
“Seeing the smoke and hearing the alarms, they ran over with a home fire extinguisher. That single extinguisher stopped the fire from consuming our entire house while we waited for help to arrive.
“We were extremely lucky. My family is safe and we have a home today because of a neighbour who was prepared. If they didn’t have that extinguisher, something so many of us don't keep in our homes, our house would be completely gone.
“Fire moves with terrifying speed and 14 minutes is more than enough time for a house to be reduced to ash and losing everything.”
Lancashire Fire Service responds
Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service confirmed that Wesham’s on-call fire crew were not available on the night of the fire at Rachel’s home (Monday, August 23).
They said “on-call availability is a national challenge” because the system relies on volunteers being available close to their local station, while balancing work, family and other commitments.
An LFRS spokesperson said: “While in Lancashire we have many dedicated on-call firefighters and above average availability, we still face challenges with recruitment and retention of staff which we are focussed on addressing through attracting more people into the role.”
They added: “Wesham is an on-call fire station, which means our firefighters live or work close to the station and respond to emergencies from home or work during agreed periods of availability.
“We have 58 fire engines in Lancashire and 32 are crewed by on-call firefighters.
“Fire engine availability fluctuates every day and there are temporary periods when fire engines are not available for reasons such as responding to emergencies, training, leave or sickness absence, and unavailability of on-call staff.
“On this occasion, Wesham's fire engine was not available and fire engines from Lytham, South Shore and Blackpool responded to the incident.”
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‘Our response times are among fastest in country’
“We have systems in place which continuously assess community risk and fire engine availability in real-time, in order to deploy fire engines where they are needed across Lancashire, and our response standards are among the fastest in the country,” said fire service spokesperson.
“However on-call availability is a national challenge because the system relies on people being available close to their local station for long periods, while balancing work, family and other commitments.
“While in Lancashire we have many dedicated on-call firefighters and above average availability, we still face challenges with recruitment and retention of staff which we are focussed on addressing through attracting more people into the role, supporting them through training and development, and using data to improve availability.”