A FIRE station may lose one of its fire engines unless enough new recruits come forward to man it.

Ilkley Fire Station is currently operating with just 11 firefighters instead of the full complement of 20, and does not have enough staff to run both its fire engines.

Now it has emerged that the fire service may eventually take away the spare engine if the station fails to recruit more staff.

Station Officer Alex Watson said: "It would be something that would only happen in the long term if we didn't get anyone. It hasn't happened before."

The station has been calling for new recruits for the past year, and trying to encourage women in particular - who are under-represented at the station - to sign up.

In some emergencies, extra fire engines have had to travel to Ilkley from Rawdon or Otley to back up the crew from Ilkley.

As a 'retained' station, Ilkley relies on part-time firefighters who live in the area, and often have other jobs. They must live within minutes of the fire station, and can be called from their home or place of work to answer emergencies.

The fire service has found changing social patterns and the reluctance of employers to give time off work has affected many people's decision to join.

Mr Watson said: "It's an ongoing thing for the fire service. It is permanently looking for recruits."

He said the station would ideally like to have 20 firefighters, but four or five extra staff would be enough to get the second engine back on the road.

He is confident the station will manage to recruit more staff, following a recent appeal in the Ilkley Gazette.

"A few people have already taken away application forms. Whenever stations have made a positive effort to recruit, they have been successful," he said.

Anyone interested in becoming a firefighter can contact Mr Watson on 078999 85766, or West Yorkshire Fire Service's personnel support department on (01274) 682311.

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