Hero locals saved Malmesbury Abbey from an arson attack after the fire station just 400 metres away was unable to crew an appliance due to a lack of firefighters.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene at around 9pm on Friday evening, but the nearest available fire engine was ten miles away – in Chippenham.
Due to a lack of on-call firefighters, Malmesbury Fire Station was unable to respond to the blaze – putting the 12th-century Grade I listed building at risk of being destroyed.
Luckily, local residents and staff from nearby businesses – including The Bird Cage restaurant and The Old Bell Hotel – rushed to save the abbey, using fire extinguishers and buckets of water.
They brought the fire under control within minutes, preventing a tragedy.
Posting in a community group on Facebook, one of Malmesbury’s retained firefighters said the incident “could have been catastrophic” and “threatened the future of the Abbey”.
He added: “To make matters worse, our local fire station didn’t have enough firefighters available for the truck to be operational… The next nearest truck is Chippenham!
“The extra 10-12 minutes is a long time to wait… if your home is burning, you are trapped in a car crash, or like last night; a crisis threatens the community – every minute counts.
“Malmesbury fire station is manned 100% by on-call firefighters. That means they are regular people who all have full time jobs and families, but choose to undergo training so that they can protect Malmesbury alongside their normal lives.
“On-call firefighters are paid for their time and as firefighters we do the same role as our whole time counterparts.”
If you think you could be a retained firefighter, find out more and how to apply by visiting the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service website.
