The location of Warwickshire's fire stations is under review with some performance targets to be scrapped. 

A performance report from Warwickshire County Council states that a "resourcing-to-risk review" is being undertaken to "inform more realistic standards" on Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service's response times, while future data on fire-related death and injuries "will be presented as information only without an associated target" following a separate review.

The report, covering the year 2022-23, showed the service to be below target for each measure. 

There were four fire-related deaths against a target of none with 29 fire-related injuries against a target of 26. 

The service aims to attend 75 per cent of calls where there is a risk to life or property within 10 minutes but the rate for last year was 64.3 per cent. 

Cllr Ian Shenton noted that most recent data showed an improved rate of 73 per cent and asked: "Why do you want to reduce the standard, why not aim for that standard?"

Chief fire officer Ben Brook insisted the measures were not about metrics but finding ways of improving response times in the right parts of the county, cutting the overall level of risk which can vary by area.

"We are absolutely not looking to reduce that standard or provide a worse service to the communities of Warwickshire, but on a repeated basis we are not meeting that standard. It hasn't been achieved for a number of years now," he said. 

"We also believe that the risk is not equitable across Warwickshire. Some parts have higher levels of risk than others and we want to make sure the greatest amount of resource goes to where the greatest amount of need is.

"By reconfiguring our resources, we believe we can provide a better service to communities.

"The review has already suggested that if we reconfigure our resources, we could improve our response times by about 30 seconds. It doesn't sound like much but when you are in need, that can be the difference between life and death.

"Response is not our only control measure, we also try to prevent and protect people in the first place."

Cllr Andy Crump who is in charge of fire and rescue services and community safety in Warwickshire, added further context, noting that "one size doesn't fit all".

"We have had cases in the past where crews have responded very quickly, in less than five minutes, and the outcome has been tragic. It was too late," he said.

"Yes, response times are part of the overall package but prevention is key as well. We need to make sure we prevent these things and protect people for long enough so they are safe enough to be rescued in a timely manner.

"Some of the targets are really historical, they certainly need to be refined. Let's use the evidence.

"We are all about fairness and equity… but people in different parts of the county have different risks so let's target our resources to the highest risks.

"Therefore, there might be some change in terms of locations or allocations of resources of our fire and rescue stations, et cetera.

"It will be based on evidence. There will be consultation with local members because we need to make sure the public is aware. When things are likely to be moved, there will be other methods put in place to make sure things are fair."