IT is widely accepted that it takes the average home only six minutes to burn down.

Why is the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority proposing the closure of West Kirby and Upton fire stations while publishing images of maps showing the time it would take a fire engine ten minutes to arrive at burning properties, ten-minute isochrones maps.

A new fire station, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, is to be built at Frankby Road, in Greasby, apparently, in order to save money.

This makes no economic sense.

It is as senseless as Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council’s plan to save money, following central government cuts, by spending hundreds of thousands on West Kirby Concourse and permanently closing the first floor of the West Kirby public library, without any prior public participation.

Closing two fire stations on the western half of the Wirral peninsula will clearly make many properties more vulnerable, especially considering the previous closure of Hoylake fire station.

I am not too interested in viewing ten-minute maps that show the expected arrival times for fire-engines when properties have already burned down.

I call on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority to publish maps showing the two-, three-, four-, and five-minute arrival times for fire-engines. I am not at all reassured to know that one will arrive after properties have burned down.

Members of the public have 12 weeks to communicate their views to councillors, MPs, parliamentary candidates and to Dave Hanratty, chairman, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Bridle Road, Bootle.

Alan Rundle, West Kirby.