Penrith Fire Station

Local stations

• Lazonby - 8 miles
• Shap - 10 miles
• Appleby - 13 miles

24,400 population

Crewing type

Day Crewed and On-call

Fleet

• 2 fire engines
• 1 water bowser
• 1 national resilience enhanced logistics vehicle
• 1 environmental protection unit
• 1 joint incident command control unit
• 1 training appliance

Penrith has a rich history. It was in the 9th and 10th century that the town became the capital of Cumbria, a semi-dependant state which until 1070 AD formed part of the Kingdom of Scotland and Strathclyde. The two oldest streets, Burrowgate and Sandgate, date from the 13th Century and there are additional significant heritage buildings within the station area.

Further information for this fire station is available on a number of themes at the Cumbria Intelligence Observatory, including:

• Population 

• Crime and Community

• Health and Social Care

• Housing

• Economy and Employment

• Environment

• Children and Young People

Please visit www.cumbriaobservatory.org.uk and choose a fire station area for your particular theme of interest.

The area contains:

• 7 Heritage Sites, 19 Grade II listed buildings and over 70 Grade I listed buildings
• The River Eden is a Special Area of Conservation, and there are 14 Sites of Specific Scientific Interest
• There are 4 Site Specific Risks; Ullswater Pumping Station, Omega Proteins (Wildriggs), Carrs Billington Agriculture and Rheged

Flood Risk:

• The River Eamont at Eamont Bridge has caused flooding in recent years: 1968, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2009 are examples of some of the worst occasions. The Eamont catchment covers an area of approximately 230Km2 and its main tributaries are the River Lowther, Dacre Beck and Thacka Beck. Average annual rainfall is high over most of the catchment ranging from 270mm in the South West to 800mm in the North East. Flooding in the Eamonth Bridge area is mainly due to the River Eamonth outflow from Ullswater but Dacre Beck, which joins the Eamont upstream of the Eamont Bridge Flood Warning area, can often have a significant influence during flood events. There are approximately 90 properties at risk, including Southwaite Green Mill Caravan Park. 
• Penrith Station is also the first to respond to flood risk again arising from the river Eden, at Armathwaite. The Armathwaite Flood Warning Area covers approximately 0.0015Km2 and consists of isolated properties, roads and high quality agricultural land from Langwathby to Armathwaite. There are approximately 32 properties at risk, including Armathwaite Castle. Major flooding to the area has occurred in 1822, 1856, 1925, 1968, 1972, 2005 and 2009.
• The centre of Penrith flooded in 2003 and again in 2006 as a result of localised heavy rainfall over the Thacka Beck catchment (M6 corridor between J40-41). It affected the businesses on Middlegate, particularly those close to Burrowgate.

The risks within the town are both residential and commercial and with major roads being major arterial ways for the County, and ever increasing number of road traffic collisions are now being attended.