More fire engines immediately available in Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, East Grinstead and Shoreham: fire service extends cover

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service announced on Tuesday, April 11, that fire stations in Burgess Hill, East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and Shoreham will now provide an immediate response capability from 7am until 7pm, seven days a week.

This is an increase from the previous level of immediate cover, which was five days a week.

WSFRS chief fire officer Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, said: “I am delighted to be delivering on our second strategic priority, which has been set out in our Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2022-2026. The CRMP conveys our commitments to those who live, work and visit West Sussex; and this second deliverable will help ensure those within the county continue to live safely.

“Data shows that incident demand is highly consistent across all days of the week. Therefore, improving the level of immediate cover within the service will benefit not just those who live in Adur and Mid Sussex, but all those who live within the West Sussex as the change aims improve response times by 13 seconds, county-wide.

“From the hours of 7pm until 7am when immediate response cover isn’t available at our four day-crewed stations, fire engines will continue to be crewed by our fantastic teams of retained firefighters who are on-call and respond to emergencies from their homes or places of work.”

WSFRS said the changes should mean more flexibility for carrying out prevention and protection work too, such as community safety events.

Visit yourvoice.westsussex.gov.uk/crmp.