FIRE chiefs have responded to the "Save Our Pump" campaign with detailed explanations of how and why the proposals will benefit the area.

After recommendations were made last month to move one of Leigh fire station's two pumps to create a new station in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Leigh firefighters received strong support from local residents in their "Save Our Pump" campaign, but Deputy County Fire Officer Tony Proctor argued that, while he understands the emotions of these people, the decision is not just about Leigh and intends to provide balanced protection for the entire county.

He said: "The best value review was a professional review that looked at fire service county-wide and, following the results of this, we had to find a solution for our failure to hit attendance time.

The proposals consist of building two new £1 million stations, one near Ashton-in-Makerfield and one in North-East Wigan. One of Leigh's pumps would be transferred to the Ashton-in-Makerfield site, where five new jobs would be created.

Official statistics

Mr Proctor explained that official statistics highlighting the current differences between Wigan and Leigh stations establish the brigade's proposals as sensible and beneficial not only for Wigan, but also for Leigh.

"Although both Wigan and Leigh have two pumps there is a marked imbalance between the areas they serve."

Leigh covers a 19 square mile area with a population of 53,000, while Wigan's area is the largest in Greater Manchester, covering 32 square miles with a population of 160,000. Last year 90 of Leigh's 1,500 incidents were in dwellings, while Wigan had double the number of incidents (3,200), 154 of which were in dwellings.

Also, according to 2001 figures, Leigh is a comparatively safe place, coming only 32nd out of 40 in the list of casualties, where as the number of casualties in Wigan is the second highest in the county.

Mr Proctor talked of a number of myths that local residents believe: "People in Leigh are under the false impression that the second pump in some way belongs to the town, but in reality fire cover is delivered on a brigade wide basis and Leigh's second pump was used over 600 times last year to attend fires elsewhere and to provide cover for other stations. The idea that it is simply sitting at Leigh fire station waiting to respond to fires in Leigh is false.

"There is also the idea that if there is one serious fire in Leigh the area will be stripped of cover and it would take 20 minutes for another pump to reach the area, this is not the case as stations are never left uncovered. All stations are closely monitored and, if necessary, cover would be brought in on stand-by from Farnworth or Eccles."

"Local people are worried about Leigh's cover being halved -- but there will be the same number of engines as before, the same attendance as before and five more firefighting posts."

Mr Proctor is keen to reassure the public that the plans are right for the whole borough.

"I know people are very emotional about this, and I understand that. But it is a business decision and one that makes sense to the borough as a whole. I would not recommend anything that would in any way compromise community or firefighter safety."

The proposals are open for public consultation until September 21, when they will be sent to the Secretary of State for approval. Mr Proctor welcomes any comments or alternative ideas from the public or the firefighters themselves and there is an open offer for a fire authority spokesman to attend council or community meetings to explain the situation further.

Comments can be emailed to the County Fire Officer, Barry Dixon at barryd@manchesterfire.gov.uk