GRASSINGTON Fire Station may be forced to close if more volunteers are not found to ensure that 24-hour cover can be maintained.

At the moment the station has six full time firefighters, but in order to go out on a call four of the six need to be available and one has to be a fully trained driver.

Lead firefighter Peter Merrell said: "It is very important to keep this station alive. It is quite a distance from the nearest station, perhaps 30 to 40 minutes away."

All of the firefighters are keen to see the survival of the unit.

The station was first set up in 1985 and it initially had a van, then a Land Rover and now the team has a fully operational appliance.

Currently the only call-outs that Grassington does not cover are road traffic accidents and aircraft crashes because it does not have the specialist cutting equipment required.

But Officer Anthony Buck is hoping that by 2005 Grassington Fire Station will have such equipment and will be able to provide more cover.

The number of call-outs varies from between 25 and 40 a year. So far this year the station has attended 23 incidents.

All of the firefighters offer their time voluntarily and in return the fire service provides free training in first aid and other aspects of the job, such as breathing apparatus or learning to drive an appliance.

Firefighter Merrell said: "No specific skills are needed to become a volunteer other than general life skills."

Each week the volunteers meet on a Monday between 7pm and 9pm to carry out basic drills, test equipment and simulate possible incidents.

Officer Buck said: "What we do is serious, but we like to have a bit of fun as well so there is a social side that goes with it."