Thumbs up from crews for new station

New fire station at Rastrick. Temporary Watch Commander Steve Mosley, Firefighter Mark Corscadden, Firefighter Richard Mervill, Crew Commander Simon Brown and Firefighter Alex Morris

The team at Rastrick is made up of a Station Commander Gareth Atkins (who also commands Mytholmroyd and Todmorden fire stations), and four watches.

SC Atkins said: “I’ve worked closely with the Rastrick crew over the past few months and I’ve seen the excitement building. All the team is really happy with the station.”

The station has received a total of 33 calls with a projection of between 800 and 900 calls - a combined total of what Brighouse and Elland stations would have covered.

“We are picking up more incidents in the Huddersfield area so it is good that we are busy and the crews are honing their skills set. We are now finding that we are more part of a team of stations covering Kirkless, Calderdale and the whole of West Yorkshire.”

He said neighbours of the station on Clough Lane had taken a tour around the facilities and highlighted how important it was to liaise with them.

Firefighters will also be looking to work closely with the Calder Valley NPT Inspector Rachel Bairstow in reducing the amount of rubbish fires especially over the summer as well as the service’s overall target of reducing road traffic accidents and promoting fire safety.

The station has retained its specialist water rescue capacity, housing a powerboat with all the crew highly trained in swift water rescue.

The consolidation of Brighouse and Elland resources at a new fire station delivers revenue savings of £1 million per year while maintaining excellent service delivery standards and providing employees with vastly improved accommodation facilities.

District Commander for Calderdale Martyn Greenwood said: “It was an emotional day to see Elland and Brighouse close, but as the fire service evolves we recognise this is an exciting new chapter. The new station represents significant investment in Calderdale and a long term commitment to providing excellent service delivery standards.”