A NEW fire station planned for West Oxfordshire could boost the fire service’s ability to respond to emergencies in the area.

While the new facility in Carterton is not due to be built until 2017/18, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has launched a recruitment drive for on-call fire fighters to use it.

As well as being used by the fire service, the building will be utilised by other emergency services.

Simon Furlong, deputy chief fire officer, said: “By increasing our presence in West Oxfordshire, we believe this facility will significantly improve our emergency response capability in this area and increase our capacity to target and deliver our community safety resources in the areas of most need.” 

On-call firefighters are people who go about their everyday life until they are alerted to an emergency incident in their area. 

They then have five minutes to get to their local fire station and respond as a professional firefighter.  

Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for fire, Rodney Rose, said: “There has been a high level of community interest in this project and the facility will be a real asset for local people.”