A RETIRED firefighter claims a Haworth pensioner’s death in a house fire could have been avoided if the village fire station was still open.

Joe O’Keefe claims the Keighley fire engine took up to 12 minutes to reach 88-year-old Bramwell Schofield’s terraced home, a claim disputed by the Fire Service.

The long-serving fireman said Haworth’s former crew would have taken no more than seven minutes to reach the house on Alice Street.

Mr O'Keefe, who served for 27 years on Green Watch at Keighley fire station, said: “That extra five minutes could have made a difference between life and death. Even five minutes is critical.

“When they said Haworth didn’t need a fire station they were wrong. Haworth needs a proper professional fire service.”

Mr O’Keefe spoke after Mr Schofield, a lifelong Haworth resident, died in hospital soon after being rescued from his house.

Fire crews from Keighley, Shipley and Fairweather Green, along with police and paramedics, were called to the house in Alice Street at about 9am on Monday after a neighbour saw smoke.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the first fire engine to arrive was from Keighley Fire Station and arrived in nine minutes and 17 seconds.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dave Walton said: “In this very low risk area, we aim for the first fire engine to arrive within 11 minutes, which was achieved, and everything possible was done by firefighters at the scene.

“This was a tragic incident and we extend our deepest condolences. This incident serves to highlight the danger presented by fires in the home.

“We take great care in ensuring that our limited resources are located in the areas of highest risk and where we assess that they will have the best effect."

In 2012, the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority approved the closure of Haworth Fire Station due to the extremely low number of incidents that the station was responding to.

“The cover that we are able to provide from surrounding fire stations was an integral part of that decision" said Mr Walton.

“We continue to work with Friends of Haworth and Worth Valley Fire Station to consider new ways of providing both fire and community safety services from the former Haworth Fire Station site," he added.

Mr Schofield’s neighbours described the lifelong Haworth resident as a lovely man who regularly walked in the village.

Police and fire chiefs said there were no suspicious circumstances, and enquiries were continuing. Mr Schofield was identified by local residents, but has not been officially named as the victim.

The chairman of a group looking to revive Haworth’s fire station said the “tragic” incident in Alice Street had made him more determined to bring the building back into use as an emergency services hub for the Worth Valley.

Steve Thorpe, chairman of Friends of Haworth and Worth Valley Fire Station, said: “It shows the importance of what we’re fighting for. It shows that everybody should be getting behind us to make this happen.

“Haworth has been called a ‘low risk area’, but we do still have fires here and this proves it.”