‘Closing fire station could be detrimental for public’, say union

Plans to close a Surrey fire station could be detrimental to public safety, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has said.

Banstead fire station could move to Godstone under proposals by Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

The fire service said moving the station nine miles away would still mean the average response time to a critical emergency would still be under the 10-minute target.

But FBU secretary Karl Jones called on the service to find a different location as “the public should not be exposed to potential greater response times”.