Service stretched by town fires

Part-time firefighters were called in from surrounding areas for help as crews attended High Wycombe railway station on Sunday, November 27, as a blaze badly damaged the roof of the building.

LAst month another major operation was launched to put out a large fire in Abbey Barn Lane which destroyed the Wycombe Summit Ski Centre.

A command unit was sent to both fires with a total of eight fire engines attending the Wycombe Summit blaze and five attending the station blaze at 4pm on Sunday.

But the fire and rescue service says it managed to cope with the strain on resources by replacing fire appliances with some from other areas in Bucks.

A spokesman said vehicles were mobilised along with specialist officers from neighbouring stations to ensure their response did not suffer.

He said: "On Sunday we moved a crew from Amersham fire station to High Wycombe fire station during the railway station fire.

"This was able to provide some of the cover for High Wycombe during the fire at the railway station. Indeed, it was called out to a house fire in High Wycombe during the afternoon."

The spokesman added that retained firefighters, who are part-timers, played a crucial role. He added: "Retained crews from High Wycombe, Princes Risborough, Stokenchurch, Great Missenden, Amersham and Aylesbury were among the firefighters at the ski centre fire."

Staff and customers were evacuated from the railway station by Amersham Hill as the fire took hold, and was put out in under two hours.

It started in the ticket office roof and an investigation has been launched.

However, Greg Smith, divisional officer, said he believed he knew what it was.

He said: "From the evidence we have so far, our investigation is leading us to the most likely cause as being an electrical fault."

Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away. All train services have been restored. However, northbound services have had only four-carriage trains.