A former MP is calling for more robust procedures for the fire service after a woman in her 70s died following a bungalow fire.

Andrew George, the Lib Dem MP for Helston from 1997 to 2015 and now a Cornwall councillor, called for changes after the woman died following a house fire in Heamoor last Monday.

Firefighters from her home station of Penzance half a mile away were unable to attend because it did not have enough firefighters available.

In the end firefighters from St Just and Camborne attended the scene to tackle the fire. The woman was rescued from the scene and CPR performed on the 76-year-old for 30 minutes before she was declared deceased.

Her family told local media that they were shocked to find out afterwards that there was no cover in the town although they did not blame the firefighters. 

In a statement Andrew George said: "This is a very unsatisfactory situation and raises questions whether a life might have been saved had Pz been scrambled?

"I know serving firefighters in the area are distraught at this tragedy. I’ve asked searching questions of the senior command and also whether the fire control room should be set more robust procedures to avert the circumstances which led to a crew being stood down less than half a mile from the location of this tragedy

"Of course those firefighters who got there within 15 mins from St Just and who administered CPR for over 30 mins before the ambulance arrived deserve our praise, but those retained at Penzance that evening will want to know why contingency plans were not in place when they don’t have enough of the full range of firefighters to meet national standards to dispatch a crew.

"This just isn’t good enough. Firefighters want to do their jobs and save lives. It must be very distressing when they know they could have made a difference but were prevented from doing so.

"My thoughts are with the family of the lady who died and the emergency service staff on duty that night. "It doesn’t help to say that these questions are now for the coroner to investigate, but I hope the service learns lessons from this and that proper and effective workforce management is reviewed in the light of this tragedy."

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Cornwall Council, which is responsible for the fire service, said at the time of the incident that it aimed to respond to all incidents with the nearest readily available crews.

It said due to staff absence, at the time of the call Penzance Community Fire Station did not have the minimum number of qualified crew members available.

As is standard procedure, the next nearest crews were immediately mobilised and arrived at the scene within the target response time of 16 minutes.

In a statement Cornwall Council said: "Fire crews from St Just and Tolvaddon attended a home in Heamoor, Penzance at 4.39am on Monday, 19 June after reports of a fire.

 

"A 76-year-old woman was rescued from the property by firefighters using breathing apparatus.  Emergency treatment was provided but sadly she died at the scene.

 

"A joint investigation between Devon and Cornwall Police and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service to determine the cause of the fire is underway.

 

"Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service has 31 fire stations, with two crewed on a 24-hour basis.  All other stations have on-call firefighters drawn from the community. We aim to respond to all incidents with the nearest readily available crews. 

 

"Due to staff absence, at the time of the call Penzance Community Fire Station did not have the minimum number of qualified crew members available. As is standard procedure, the next nearest crews were immediately mobilised and arrived at the scene within the target response time of 16 minutes."