NEW faces are needed to bolster the ranks of Malmesbury’s fire service and people are being urged to step up to the challenge.

A lack of firefighters in Malmesbury has recently led to incidents being attended by crews from Chippenham and further afield.

This most recently happened last Friday, when Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue were called to Parklands in Malmesbury at 4.55pm.

The caller reported that there had been a fire in a night storage heater within a bedroom and two crews from Chippenham and Royal Wootton Bassett attended.

Speaking about the incident, a spokesman for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “In the event that any appliance is unavailable, due to either insufficient crewing or commitment at another incident, the first attending fire engine may have to travel from further away than we would ideally like.

“When appropriate, we will relocate appliances to reduce the response times to certain areas.”

According to the spokesperson, illnesses, family commitments and day jobs can mean that there are times when the retained crew is lacking numbers.

An appeal has now been made to residents to join the crew and an open evening is being held at the fire station to encourage people to help keep the town safe.

“We do need new on-call firefighters in Malmesbury, and a ‘have-a-go’ evening will be held on Wednesday, October 19, between 6.30 and 8.30pm at the fire station in Gloucester Road.

“The station is looking for cover across all parts of the day, but particularly at evenings and weekends.

“The recruitment event will provide an opportunity to understand the role of a firefighter, try out some of the equipment and speak to the current crew.

“If you can’t attend on October 19, you can call into the fire station on a Monday evening between 7 and 9pm or find out more at dwfire.org.uk/malmesbury”