New multi-million pound ‘super’ fire station opens in Liverpool

A brand new multi-million pound fire station serving north Liverpool has officially opened after an 80-week build.

Located on the 12-acre site of the former Commercial Hydraulics plant, the multi-pump super station on Long Lane combines existing stations, and crews, in Croxteth and Aintree. The new station is located opposite the Jeffrey Humble football centre and around 150 staff and contractors from Wates Construction were tasked with bringing the design to life.

Dubbed a ‘super’ station, the new site comprises four appliance bays, incorporating operational and welfare accommodation, offices and training facilities, external drill and training spaces, as well as a four storey training tower. It is expected more than 60 firefighters will be based at the site all working to a 24-hour shift pattern with 15 on duty during each shift.

Around 50 administrative/training staff will also work on site during normal office hours. It is expected overall response times across north Liverpool will improve on average by 34 seconds when the station is fully operational.

Alongside the new station, a six-storey tower has also been installed designed to set on fire, as part of training situations. Each level will be layered out in a different scenario to challenge officers’ abilities including a standard home, a hospital ward or bar and club scenario.

The site will also be home to a brand-new town that most of the public will never see. A new motorway with overhead signage, culverts for recovery of vehicles and even train lines complete with tunnels are being placed on site to hone the rescue and recovery skills of the crews.

Adding to that, Chief Fire Officer Phil Garrigan revealed to the LDRS last year how the service will take delivery of two of the former trains used when the Class 777 fleet is fully operational on the Merseyrail network. He said: “It’s about developing strategies for every challenge possible.”

Across from the training site where the high rise, motorway and tunnel will be situated, a purpose built command and control suite is being developed to allow teams to visually train for a range of incidents, simulating small scale incidents through to major incidents involving multiple agencies. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority signed off on plans to sell the existing Aintree station on Longmoor Lane in December.