Save Corby's Fire Engine

I was shocked to see the pictures of Corby's multi-storey car park on fire.

Thank goodness nobody was seriously hurt and that fire crews from around the county and from neighbouring counties were quickly on the scene.

We all know that this could have been so much worse.

Corby currently has two fully manned fire engines, but sadly there's a proposal from Northamptonshire County Council to lose one of those engines and replace it with a COBRA gadget, manned by just two firefighters.

This seems absolute madness to me, particularly given the scale of the fire we've just seen.

Corby is a very rapidly expanding town, with the housing development at Priors Hall being one of the largest in the country at the moment.

It is an industrial town, with numerous industrial estates and many large businesses.

There are also many outlying villages which rely on the Corby fire station to come to their aid if needed.

In fact it was Corby firefighters who came to my parents' rescue a few years ago, and we remain eternally grateful to them for their prompt action and the kindness they showed to my Mum and Dad.

All of the above are reasons why I've signed the petition to save Corby's second fire engine and I would urge you all to do the same.

Reading some of the comments both on the Northants Telegraph website and on Andy Sawford's webpage with regards to this matter, it would appear that serving firefighters are concerned about what these changes will mean to the service they can provide.

I think we should be listening to the people who actually do the job, and know what they are talking about, rather than County Councillors who are trying to convince us that there won't be a reduction in the service.

Saving lives is, and always should be, far more important than saving money.