Princes Risborough Fire Station, 
New Road, Princes Risborough, Bucks, HP27 0BS

						Station Manager is Roy Hocking Drill nights are held on Tuesdays, starting at 7.30pm. Where to see us in May and June 2008. Would you like to find out more about becoming a part-time firefighter at Princes Risborough Fire Station? Click HERE

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Princes Risborough sits on the western slopes of the Chilterns. The Fire Station faces the well-known landmark, Whiteleaf Cross, which dates back to at least the 1700s. The Fire Station in New Road dates back to just 1959, but there has been a station and firefighters in Princes Risborough since the 1800s.

Before 1959, it was situated in East's Yard. This site no longer exists, but for reference it was where the flats are located today off Church Street, immediately opposite the Malthouse Shopping Parade. There was a field next to East's Yard where the horses that pulled the fire pump grazed when it was not required for a call. 

Princes Risborough Fire Station is crewed by an establishment of 13 RDS (Retained Duty System) staff who respond to incidents from their ‘normal’ jobs working in the local community. Each crew member carries an 'Alerter' while getting on with their everyday life. When they are on call they must be no more than five minutes away from the Fire Station.

Princes Risborough's firefighters give cover to Princes Risborough and surrounding villages including Askett, Cadsden, Horsenden, Longwick, Monks Risborough, Saunderton and Whiteleaf. Premises on their ground include schools, a private hospital, MoD sites, commercial and residential areas and several National Heritage buildings.

There are currently two appliances at Princes Risborough Fire Station. One is a Rescue Pump, call sign Risboro' 3, which arrived in 2006. This is a refurbished appliance from Great Holm Fire Station in Milton Keynes. It replaced the six-wheeled Water Tender/Tanker that was redeployed to Bletchley through Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's strategic placement plan. The other is a Foam/Water Tanker, call sign Risboro' 5.

Princes Risborough Fire Station is run by Station Manager Roy Hocking. He is also responsible for the standalone Retained Duty System Fire Stations at Chesham, Great Missenden, Marlow and Stokenchurch. In his absence the Watch Manager of each station, which at Princes Risborough is Watch Manager Nick Chadzynski, keeps the crew in hand.

These five stations also have their own Link Officer to help with various duties including training. Princes Risborough's Link Officer is Station Manager Jeremy Williams.

The station's community safety work is guided by Jo Oliver, Community Safety Partnership Manager for Wycombe District, who is based at High Wycombe Fire Station.

Members of the crew come from various backgrounds. The jobs they do when they are not working as firefighters include postman, machine setter, dog trainer, builder, gardener, lorry driver and hygiene technician, to name but a few.

The crew takes an active role in community safety, carrying out Home Fire Risk Checks (fitting free smoke alarms and giving fire safety advice), and static displays at fetes and shows. One of these is the annual Town Festival, which is usually the first whole week of July (in 2007 it is from Saturday 7 to Sunday 15 July).

The pump and crew take part in the opening parade on the first Saturday and the street fayre on the second Saturday. On the Tuesday the Fire Station puts on an open drill night for the community, carrying out ladder drills and a road traffic collision drill and well as showing people the fire appliances and providing refreshments.

Retained Duty System crews are called on to attend the same range of incidents as their wholetime counterparts at any time of day or night. In return they are paid a retaining fee along with an additional payment for every incident attended. They are also required to attend a training night for two hours every week - Princes Risborough's drill night is on a Tuesday.

If you do not live near a Fire Station but you work near one, you could still be eligible to be a Retained Duty System firefighter. If your employer is flexible, you could give day cover which could be of valuable use.

Princes Risborough's crew forms an integral part of the fire cover provided by Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service throughout Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. To this end the crew can, if required, attend incidents throughout the county.

It is not uncommon for Princes Risborough's crew to assist with incidents in neighbouring counties. The most notable instance to date was the large fire at the Buncefield Oil Terminal in Hemel Hempstead which occurred in December 2005. The Foam Tanker was one of the first of such vehicles to assist Hertfordshire crews that day.