New Fire Station Opens in Wokingham Berks
0A new fire station has opened in Wokingham, Berkshire. Firefighters started work on 1 October.
The station cost £1.5 million to build. Funding for the project was agreed by Royal Berkshire Fire Authority in 2009. The building, which stands on foundations built entirely of recycled materials, has state of the art energy-saving features, including photovoltaic cells and solar panels, a recycled rainwater system, automatic light switches and heat insulation, making it very economical to run. One of its key features is a community room, where local groups will be able to hold meetings.
RBFRS Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Paul Southern, said: “This is a very exciting time for us and the culmination of a lot of hard work by everyone involved. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in November last year so we have moved from building site to a new fire station in less than a year.
“The existing fire station in Denton Road served us well for many years but was not suitable for the requirements of a 24-hour cover station. We will look at its future role as part of reviews of our asset management and training plans but no decisions have been made as yet.”
Royal Berkshire Fire Authority said the station will be manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week and be staffed by 29 crew.