Horton Kirby Fire Station update

Around the turn of 2011-12, I campaigned along with many others in Horton Kirby and South Darenth against the proposal by Kent Fire & Rescue Service to close the Horton Kirby Fire Station. The Parish Council asked me to be their representative and set out the community's view at the meeting of the Kent and Medway Fire Authority at which the decision on a range of changes to fire stations across the county were discussed. Nonetheless, the Fire Authority voted to go ahead with all the changes, including the closure of the Horton Kirby station once a new station at New Ash Green was established.

I remain concerned that this plan is damaging to people in Horton Kirby, South Darenth and other northern areas of the Darent Valley division. However, the Fire & Rescue Service is bringing forward two measures which, if enacted, will hopefully have some mitigating effect.

The first is that coverage at Swanley - like Horton Kirby, a part-time station - is being enhanced with more part-time staff being recruited. (Dartford will, however, remain the nearest full-time station). For anyone interested in finding out more about being a part-time firefighter and the recruitment at Swanley, this link gives the details and includes a video.  

Secondly, the Fire & Rescue Service is rolling out an Automated Vehicle Location System (AVLS) - essentially a GPS tracking system so that the nearest vehicle out on the road can go straight to a fire or other incident, rather than a crew at a station having necessarily to be called into action. To a fair extent, this already happens through radio contact, but AVLS will make the process quicker and more reliable. This should also help response times.

It is clear that the Horton Kirby closure is going ahead. The new fire station on the borders of New Ash Green and Ash-cum-Ridley (to be known, I understand, as the latter) is expected to be completed later this year. This means that we could see the closure of Horton Kirby either before Christmas or early in 2014. 

My concern has been to confirm that any enhancement at Swanley and the introduction of AVLS (which is scheduled for spring 2014) should go ahead to mitigate as much as possible the impact of the closure on local residents. Having spoken to the Fire & Rescue Service, I am encouraged that this is the case.  

I continue to regret the closure of the Horton Kirby Fire Station. However, I hope that these two initiatives will help to maintain the safety of local people and will continue to monitor their operation.