Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue announces review of stations and staffing
The service has unveiled a series of proposed changes to the way it operates, including potential fire station closures
Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue says it needs to futureproof the service by reviewing how it operates.
It says it's working to make sure resources are 'in the right place at the right time' to meet demand and improve safety.
Plans to close some of the county's on-call stations have been revealed, with a public consultation set to launch next week.
Among the plans, five day shift fire engines would be created in Wallingford (or Crowmarsh), Faringdon, Witney, Bicester and Chipping Norton.
Firefighters would be reallocated from existing roles including crewing on one of Rewley Road’s fire engines - to help address fire engine staffing levels elsewhere in the county.
The proposal also includes removing the on-call fire engine away from Rewley Road fire station in Oxford, due to very low levels of staffing over many years.
Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue says, despite the commitment of the on-call at the station and the efforts made to boost recruitment, between July 2022 and March 2024, Rewley Road on-call provided less than 5% of staffing hours that are needed during the day and only nine percent availability at night.
A further option involves moving the fire engines from Rewley Road and Kidlington fire stations to a new fire station location towards the north of Oxford, which officials say will improve response times to the surrounding area.
For Thame, one of the proposals involves removal of the second fire engine at the town’s fire station which, 'despite the committed efforts of the local crews, has low availability and attends on average only 17 incidents a year in Oxfordshire.'
Officials say the move will have 'no significant impact to first response time to primary fires and road traffic collisions' but 'would allow the employees based at the fire station to focus their efforts on ensuring that just one fire engine is made available.'
No closures have been confirmed, however, three on-call fire stations – Woodstock, Eynsham, Henley – have been considered for closure due to 'persistent low fire engine availability.'
The fire service says those closured would have a minimal impact on overall response performance 'due to the ability to deliver a fire engine response from surrounding stations.'
“It’s important that we regularly review our resources ... and ensure we have the right level of emergency cover"
A public consultation will be available on Let’s Talk Oxfordshire from Tuesday 28 October 2025.
Rob MacDougall, Oxfordshire County Council’s fire and rescue service’s Chief Fire Officer, said: “It’s important that we regularly review our resources, understand where incidents are most likely to happen and ensure we have the right level of emergency cover in those areas.
“We provide a fire and rescue service for the people of Oxfordshire, and I want them to play an active role in helping us plan and shape the future of the service by participating in our public consultation.”
On-call firefighter staffing levels continue to decline in Oxfordshire, with a 36% reduction in the number of full-time equivalent on-call firefighters over the last 10 years.
According to Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue, there is currently greater availability of resource – fire engines and firefighters – at night when demand is lowest, and lower availability during the day when demand is higher, which impacts response times in the day.
It added that the proposals being consulted on are 'designed to ensure that, as Oxfordshire grows and changes its fire stations, resources, and people are in the right place at the right time to meet the needs of communities and improve the safety, efficiency and resilience of the service.'