‘INCONSIDERATE car parking could cost lives.’

That’s the message from Minehead Firefighters this week after struggling to get a fire engine to a callout in the town.

Crews were called to reports of a gas leak at Orchard Court, in Manor Road, at just after 8am on Sunday morning but due to the cars parked in awkward places, firefighters struggled to get to the scene as quickly as they could have.

On arrival, crews confirmed there was a smell of gas at the property and got to work. Paramedics were already on the scene and had evacuated one person to an ambulance.

The crew carried out a thorough inspection of the property and using a gas detection monitor, found the leak was coming from the boiler.

The gas was then isolated to the premises and the property ventilated while the patient was taken to hospital to be checked over for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Chris Jones, station commander at Minehead Fire Station, said the location proved problematic for the crew.

“Manor Road is like many roads in Minehead. With more cars on the highway it does seem to be an increasing challenge,” he said.

“People just need to take a bit more consideration, when you park, stand back and look and think, ‘could a fire engine get through there?’ We would also encourage people to think about the turning circle of a fire engine.

“It seems to be more of a problem early in the morning or late at night. You can sometimes get up the same road during the daytime with ease, but with extra cars making it like a chicane and with areas of bad lighting it can be difficult.

“And it is not just us, it affects the ambulance service - we are responding to emergency incidents and being held up can have serious consequences.”

Meanwhile, there are still a few weeks left to apply for a position as an on-call firefighter at Minehead Fire Station.

The role is open to men and women who can be available mostly during the day. You need to be at least 18, be healthy and physically fit and live within five minutes of Minehead Fire Station.

For more information visit dsfire.gov.uk and follow the link ‘working for us’.