We’ve had the following email from a resident:
I am writing to you to express my disappointment at the impending closure of Rayleigh Fire Station.
As you may or may not be aware I have recently started a Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123383442976 to raise awareness of this closure. It has recently got some local exposure in the press and currently around 200 people have signed up in support of keeping Rayleigh Fire Station exactly where it is!
I am writing you, being our local voice. Asking question as to know not only why this vital protection is being taken away from the community but why so little is being voiced to try and preserve it, as not even the ECFRS has come out on their own website stating offically what is going to be happening to Rayleigh.
Im aware that having 200 names on a list isn’t massive numbers in a community of around 35000 people, however, I feel that considering a lot of people on the community either haven’t got access to the internet and on top of that access to Facebook, it is certainly showing signs that this closure is greatly against the people of your communities wishes. Im also confident that if we was to work in the town centre with a petition on a day when the road works are driving people away from the town, Im confident that we would get a lot more than 200 names on a piece of paper.
That said though, these firefighters at Rayleigh are a vital part of our community and have been for around the last 100 years, with the population of this town growing daily and with all the potential houses to come from the Thames Gateway plans, it begs the question as to how two sole appliances are going to cope covering everything in the Rayleigh, Hadleigh and Benfleet areas. We are being told from the Fire Service that our fire cover will improve as response times in Rayleigh will increase with this new station, which is true. Unless they are on another call out. Then we are being told we have the likes of Hawkwell, Rochford, Wickford, Leigh and Basildon nearby. Just generally in call out times, it would take Hawkwell about 7 minutes to get into Rayleigh from where it is, on top of its 5 minute call out time for being a retained fire station, like Rayleigh. Then we have Rochford, also retained. We are looking at 12 minutes from there to get into Rayleigh on top of its 5 mins call out time with Wickford being about the same. Leaving Leigh and Basildon as our nearest. Leigh is a good 8 minute drive from Rayleigh and Basildon is 15, assuming the traffic is light and theres no other incidents in the area. So assuming someone house caught fire and the appliances at Rayleigh Weir are out, it would leave that house burning for at least 8 minutes before the first appliance arrives, which is totally unacceptable.
Saying that though, I am keen on the new station being built at the Weir, although being quite a bottle neck for traffic in the area, being on such a main intersection is a great location, similar to Orsett on the A13.
What Im keen to happen along with the people of Rayleigh, is for Rayleigh Fire Station to stay where it is and provide vital support to the new station at Rayleigh Weir.
I would like to thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Any views from anyone else on this?
It’s in a really daft place at the moment.
So your saying that a location in the town center, central to all parts in Rayleigh is a daft location? The key being that it is a part time station and Rayleigh is already heavily overcrowded, so it has to be located somewhere central and within easy reach of the towns people that man the appliance!
I can understand fire fighters and public concerns, but the battle has already been lost as the decision has already been made, in the letter above it states the response times will be quicker so there is no argument. Is what needs to be looked at is another appliciance at the new fire station, keeping two stations open is not cost effective and does not make sense, but having another appliance would make sense.