MADAM, As a resident of Ross I was recently shopping in one of the town's supermarkets when the fire alarm actuated. The well trained and practised staff efficiently evacuated the store to ensure everyone's safety. Well done to the staff!

Whilst stood outside with my fellow 'evacuees' the minutes ticked by whilst the responsible persons investigated the cause to ascertain if there was a fire, and whether there was a need to call or turn back the fire service.

Within the crowd I overheard several, rather mocking, comments of "Where's the fire engine when you need one?", "What's taking them so long?" and "They're only down the road!".

Ross Fire Station has a 'part time' (Retained) crew – members of our community who give up to 120 hours of their week, on top of family and primary work commitments to crew the town's fire engines and protect the community.

"They're only down the road" is correct – they could be your neighbour 'down the road', they could be your work colleague 'down the road' or they could be the self-employed tradesman working 'down the road'. When their pagers go off, day or night, whether at work, at home or asleep, they respond immediately, travelling to the fire station by car, bike or on foot to crew the fire engine and respond to your emergency. Part time, but professionals!

In the towns and villages of rural Herefordshire the Fire Service aim to get a fire engine to the scene within ten minutes (including the six minutes allowed for the part time crew to respond to the station). Obviously calls to incidents outside of the conurbations incur longer travel times. Also if the two Ross fire engines were already dealing with an incident then the next nearest fire engine would be sent (from Whitchurch, Fownhope or Ledbury) with added travel time. On this occasion one fire engine from Ross did attend and confirmed that conditions were safe, the alarm having been activated by an aerosol being sprayed in the toilets. Better safe than sorry.

Our local firefighters, men and women of our community, dedicate a significant part of their lives to protecting the community. Don't forget "they're only down the road....."

If any members of the community aged 18+ are interested in becoming a Retained Fire Fighter and can offer 40 hours or more cover per week please visit http://www.hwfire.org.uk/Recruitment">www.hwfire.org.uk/Recruitment for more information and details.

Martin Lown

Station Commander,

South Herefordshire.

H&W FRS