Welcome to the fire station of the future (VIDEO)

MEMBERS of the public will be able to watch firefighters at work in a new breed of fire station.

The new community fire station at Kidsgrove will be one of 10 in operation across the county by summer 2011, as part of a £46 million private finance initiative.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has now lodged a planning application for the station, which explains how the new building will be far more accessible to the public than existing ones.

The station will change from being part-time to retained, meaning it will only be manned when incidents occur.

But a meeting room in the building will be accessible to the public throughout the day and early evening, to increase "community ownership" of the station.

Article continues below

2fmedia.thisisthesentinel.co.uk%2fTSPlayer%2fJSON.aspx%3fid%3d14208%26embedded%3dtrue">

A virtual walk-around of what could be the future design of 10 new fire stations in Staffordshire.

While staff and public areas will be kept separate, the building will have an open design allowing visitors to see into different parts of the station.

The application states: "It was a key aspect of the brief that the building should be open and provide the opportunity for the community to both see into the fire station and potentially catch glimpses of the actual working aspects of the facility."

The new station will have two fire engine bays, changing rooms and showers for firefighters, as well as a fitness suite and offices.

While the existing building also has these features, the fire service considers them to be outdated and need of upgrading.

Chris Bromley, area commander for Newcastle, said: "The station is one of seven in the county being rebuilt; three new stations are also being built. If approved, Kidsgrove will move a step closer to having a new, state-of-the-art community fire station."

Fire chiefs have claimed that the presence of the new establishment at Sandyford will mean coverage of Kidsgrove will improve, despite the town's fire station being downgraded to a retained facility.

While the current station has up to 30 retained and 14 full-time firefighters, the new station will only have 30 retained staff.

Work will not start at Kidsgrove until the station at Sandyford is fully operational, in July 2010.

The Kidsgrove station is set to be completed by June 2011.