Shipston Flats Fire Renews Concern Over Town’s Lost On-Call Fire Crew

The fire at a block of flats in Shipston-on-Stour on Saturday has put fresh focus on the town’s loss of its on-call fire crew. Stratford MP Manuela Perteghella has asked to meet Warwickshire’s Chief Fire Officer again about fire cover and response times around Shipston, the Stratford Herald reports.

According to the Herald, the first of six fire crews sent to Husbandmans Close on the evening of 7 November took 15 minutes to arrive, coming from Stratford-upon-Avon. Other crews came from Leamington and Wellesbourne, with three from Gloucestershire: Moreton-in-Marsh, Chipping Campden and Northleach. The fire station on Telegraph Street, about a minute from the flats, played no part.

What changed at Shipston fire station

Shipston had an on-call crew from 1948 until 31 December 2025, when its last four on-call firefighters handed back their kit, Shipston Town Council said at the time. The change came under Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s new way of working. The station stayed open as a “resilience station”, which may be crewed when the service is busy but no longer sends the first engine to primary incidents such as building fires or road crashes. Emergency cover for the Shipston area now comes from Stratford-upon-Avon and Wellesbourne fire stations.

The Herald points out that the town had been promised it would keep an operational fire station. The town council’s notice put the end of on-call cover down partly to recruitment: its former watch manager, Chris Townsend, described balancing more than 80 hours of weekly cover with a full-time job.

What’s being said now

Mr Townsend told the Herald that a Shipston crew could have been at the scene about ten minutes sooner, and that villages further out, such as Long Compton, could wait around 25 minutes. Ms Perteghella thanked the firefighters, ambulance crews, first responders and police, whose actions she said saved lives, and told the paper: “Fire cover is not a luxury; it is a lifeline.” She says she will raise response times with Warwickshire County Council, which runs the fire service.

We haven’t seen a response from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service to the criticism, or its own figures for the attendance time on Saturday. We’ll add them when they’re published.

The fire itself

Four people were hurt and two were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, one of them in a critical condition on Saturday. The cause hasn’t been made public, and Warwickshire Police says a thorough investigation is under way; anyone with information can report it online, quoting incident 362 of 7 November. Our earlier report on the Shipston flats fire has the statements from the emergency services.

Details checked on 12 November 2026 using Shipston Town Council’s notice and the Stratford Herald’s report, which first reported the MP’s comments and the response times.

Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.