AN ARTICLE in The Argus (Dec 2) said that checks were being made to find out if a Brighton waste depot is in the right place after two fires in a year.

I would have thought that a much more urgent investigation was needed, one which would bring to the attention of the public the fact that, in order to extinguish last August's conflagration, fire engines from Lewes, eight miles away, Newhaven, nine miles, Seaford, 12 miles, Barcombe 12 miles, Heathfield, 24 miles, Crowborough, 26 miles and Bexhill, a staggering 31 miles away, had to be called upon to assist the city's own, much depleted, firefighting resources to extinguish the blaze.

Brighton and Hove may have three fire stations but many of their bays are empty as the city no longer has the number of appliances and firefighters that it had ten years ago, something that is reflected throughout England, where, it is estimated, 6,800 full-time firefighters and 1,800 on-call ones have lost their jobs since 2010.

The local situation is that the main fire station at Preston Circus has been left with just two firefighting appliances and an aerial Ladder Platform.

Hove has to manage with two pumps, and Roedean has to get by with just one. That's five pumps and an ALP to protect a population of around 300,000 people, as well as having to help out whenever the county's other fire stations are unable to cope on their own.

It might be worth Argus readers raising the subject when politicians come banging on their doors looking for their support in the forthcoming General Election.

Just tell them, "No fire engines for us, no votes for you!".

Eric Waters, Lancing