A pioneering initiative by Cornish firefighters is to be launched in South East Cornwall - where Liskeard Fire Station will be manned by full-time crews for the first time in its history.

The project, to be launched in October, has been prompted by the difficulty in recruiting part-time on-call firefighters.

The problem is affecting stations in Liskeard - where only 13 of 18 posts are filled - Saltash, Looe and Torpoint.

From October 3, Liskeard will be permanently staffed by a five-strong full-time crew from Tuesdays to Fridays (8am-6.30pm). The on-call team will be back in charge over the weekends and on Mondays.

The full-time team will be charged with a range of targets focusing on areas where Liskeard - the ninth busiest of Cornwall’s 31 stations - has fallen behind because of the shortage of staff:

Recruiting more on-call firefighters.

Carrying out more than 540 free home fire safety checks over the next 18 months.

Carrying out 80 low-risk fire safety audits in small businesses over the same period.

Updating the paper and computer files of information about buildings in the area, used to tackle fires.

Visiting 14 schools for sessions on community and road safety.

The full-time project is scheduled to last 18 months, after which it will be reviewed and possibly rolled out across Cornwall. Liskeard may return to being staffed by on-call firefighters at the end of the 18 months.

Watch Manager Mark Goldsmith, who lives in Liskeard, will be leading the full-time presence.

He said: ’Liskeard is a growing area but it has been virtually untouched compared to other areas with whole-time firefighters with regards to community safety work.

‘Bodmin is the nearest whole-time station, and there a lot of time is spent on community work, doing free home fire safety checks, running road safety campaigns.

‘Liskeard and the surrounding area is relatively high for road traffic collisions, and one of the biggest areas where we save lives is in dealing with collisions, as opposed to fires.’

The full-time team will be targeting specific areas for three months at a time, starting from October 3 with Dobwalls and Doublebois.

Watch Manager Goldsmith said the recruitment problems are common: ‘The service in Cornwall and throughout the country has been struggling to recruit on-call firefighters for the past ten years.

‘With austerity, employers have been less likely to be able to let staff have the ability to respond to fire calls and people like builders, plumbers, electricians have had to extend the area they work in so they’re less able to be within a reasonable distance of a fire station.’

The full-time presence at Liskeard should shave as much as five minutes off response times to incidents. Full-time crews are also trained first responders, carrying a defibrillator and able to be first to the scene ahead of paramedics if needed. They are also trained in safeguarding, identifying vulnerable people while carrying out their community work.

The project has been made possible after successful talks between service managers, staff and unions to introduce more flexible working patterns.