CHANGES to fire stations which could see the number of firefighters operating in Barrow increased have been proposed by Cumbria County Council and Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service.

The changes come as part of the council's Integrated Risk Management Plan for 2016-2020.

The proposals would also see Ulverston Fire Station crewed by an eight hour day crew with an on-call crew outside those hours.

It will also allow the service to introduce an on-call crew to Barrow.

Cumbria ’s Chief Fire Officer, Steve Healey, said: "The service is constantly reviewing the level of risk in the county and how we can make most effective use of the resources we have.

"The approach has a proven tracked record; with the number of incidents we attend dropping significantly over the last decade.

"These new proposals are intended to put us in the best possible position to respond to incidents and keep people safe. The changes in Ulverston and Barrow are about moving resource around to reflect demand.

"The new approach to on-call stations recognises that at some stations it’s becoming increasingly difficult to recruit firefighters, but the station is still important. We want to change how these stations work, acknowledging to do this they may need additional specialist resources to make them more effective."

The changes will see the Furness peninsula covered by five fire engines, with two based in Ulverston, two in Barrow, and one on Walney.

Call outs dropping for Furness fire services

CALL OUTS for fire crews have dropped by 33 per cent in six years, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service have announced.

A Risk Management Review for Barrow, Ulverston and Walney also found a fall of an average of 18 fires every year.

The report says: "We are extremely proud of the preventative and protection work we have done to reduce the total number of incidents we are called out to year-on-year across Barrow, Ulverston and Walney.

"These activities have enabled us to reduce the number of fires significantly, resulting in fewer risks to our communities and firefighters across the area."

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service will continue with their prevention strategies throughout the public consultation.

These include Safe and Well visits, Home Accident Reduction Interventions, and youth engagement activities to be delivered over the coming year.

Changes to be put to the public

THE proposed changes will be available for public scrutiny before being rolled out to stations.

A public consultation will run until January 8, with a final decision to be made by Cumbria County Council in February.

Cllr Janet Willis, cabinet member for customers, transformation and fire and rescue, said: "Today we’ve approved the start of consultation on these proposals but we've not made any final decisions. I’d encourage people to take the time to read the action plan and respond to the consultation. We are keen to understand the views of stakeholders, particularly firefighters, and the public before we reach any conclusions."