SIR, — I wish to congratulate the St Albans fire crews who attended the incident at Verulam School last Tuesday. Their efforts meant that no-one was seriously hurt and they saved thousand, if not millions, of pounds worth of damage. How fortunate that the

SIR, - I wish to congratulate the St Albans fire crews who attended the incident at Verulam School last Tuesday. Their efforts meant that no-one was seriously hurt and they saved thousand, if not millions, of pounds worth of damage.

How fortunate that they were on station only a few minutes away. I wonder what would have happened if they had been miles away on another call? I suspect that most St Albans residents are unaware that in 2008, the St Albans fire appliances were called to nearly 200 incidents in the area that used to be covered by the Radlett fire engine, taking up to 20 minutes to reach these incidents.

If the St Albans engines were attending a call in Borehamwood when the Verulam School fire was reported, I calculate that the extra 20 minutes worth of damage caused would have cost Herts County Council far more than the �90,000 saved by closing Radlett.

GORDON PARSONS,

Mornington Road, Radlett.