Plans to close one of the Island’s three fire stations have come under attack from the Fire Brigades' Union.

Last month we reported how Kent Fire and Rescue Service had announced proposals to shut eight of its stations, including Queenborough.

Staff at those that do close will be redeployed to neighbouring stations or offered alternative flexible contracts, but there will not be any compulsory redundancies.

A decision will not be made until February, but there is already increasing opposition to the idea.

Queenborough Town Council is against the closures because it says they will increase response times.

It has suggested a better long-term solution could be to build a new station around the Queenborough Corner area.

Now the FBU has revealed it also has concerns about the proposals.

The union’s Kent secretary, Mark Simmons, says although during the day crews at Sheppey fire station in Sheerness can respond in the same amount of time as Queenborough, at night it is a different matter.

He claims because Sheppey crews will be responding from home overnight rather than the station, it could add as much as four minutes on.

He said: “Our argument is that seconds count.

“The quicker we can get to an incident, the better chance we have of achieving a successful outcome.

“Fighting fires is dangerous in any circumstances, but tackling a fire that has been left longer to develop creates added risks to firefighters, as well as increasing the possibility of fatalities or serious casualties.”

But KFRS insists every possible factor has been considered in the three-year review which led to these proposals.

A spokesman said risk is low with only two house fires in the area this year and seven in total over five years.

She added: “The FBU know very well that the majority of villages in Kent do not have a station, but they are still safe because we operate on a county-wide basis.

“There will be an increase in attendance times during the night, but this is no different from the majority of other villages that don’t have a fire station.

“All the analysis shows Sheppey can deal with the level of incidents in the area.

“At night, attendance times will be still comparable to other areas, and better than many.”

Queenborough station, in Whiteway Road, is currently crewed by nine part-time firefighters.

The Island is covered by two engines at Sheppey fire station in Sheerness and part-time engines at Queenborough and Eastchurch.

Part of the reason KFRS has made the proposals is because it has been told to expect a cut to its government funding – thought to be about £12 million – over the next three years.

KFRS owns the Queenborough building and the main savings from closing it would be in costs such as fuel, electricity, water and gas.

This is around £40,000 a year and a spokesman said if the station were sold, the money would go towards building new stations in New Ash Green, Herne Bay, Ramsgate and two in the Medway Towns.

A consultation will run until January 16 next year.

A KFRS spokesman said there was no need to crew Sheppey station overnight.