I, like most people in Porlock, am stunned to hear that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is considering closing Porlock Fire Station.

It seems fairly obvious that whoever has put this proposal together is not a local resident and has no understanding of the area involved. 

I understand they think Minehead Fire Station could cover this area of Exmoor.

Have they tried actually driving to Porlock in the busy tourist times, or has a paper exercise taken place to calculate time?

Porlock Hill is the steepest A-road in the country and the number of accidents our superb fire officers here have to deal with is considerable, especially with tourists who lose vehicle control.

The area around Porlock has really benefitted from the speed our fire vehicles can get to moor fires, and lives will have been saved.

The fire officers here are also first responders. I was taken ill and we had to call an ambulance, I was struggling to breath. Within minutes our first responders arrived at our house.

They quickly identified my oxygen levels were dropping and got me on oxygen and stabilised me.

The ambulance, which had to come from Barnstaple because that was the only one available, arrived just over an hour late before taking me onto Musgrove Hospital where I was admitted.

What would have been the outcome if the first responders hadn’t been available because our fire station had closed?

This village, Porlock Weir and the surrounding area have many beautiful thatched houses, some listed but nearly all very close together.

The time to arrive at these properties is essential to save lives and the properties, not too mention their history and attraction which tourists come here to see. 

This is much more than just saying fire vehicles from Minehead would cover Porlock and area. Greater consideration needs to be given to a very flawed proposal. 

Jane MacEwan, West End, Porlock.

More letters on this subject in this week’s Free Press.