Fire chiefs say many stations are not fit for purpose and are urging government to protect services from proposed cuts
Approaching a dilapidated-looking 1960s building with a peeling and faded exterior, it is common for visitors to have the same thought: this cannot possibly be an active fire station.
“You can say it looks derelict, we know,” says Simon Carey, the group commander of the Plymouth response at Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service.
Despite its ramshackle appearances, Camels Head, a full-time fire station staffed 24 hours a day, is an important part of the emergency service response in an area that includes one of the most deprived wards in Plymouth as well as HMNB Devonport, a Royal Navy dockyard and nuclear submarine base.
Fire chiefs have warned that many stations are no longer fit for purpose and some are posing a serious health hazard to firefighters. It comes after a decade of what one chief fire officer said was in effect the service “being defunded”, with an estimated £1bn in government funding cut during this time.
