Keynsham fire station closed on Sunday ahead of the opening early next year of the new £6.2m station at Hicks Gate.
Crews are no longer responding to emergencies from Keynsham although the station is open until 1st November for people dropping in for safety advice.
Fire engines are now responding to incidents in Keynsham from Brislington.
Following the closure of Keynsham, a number of part-time staff there are training to become whole-time firefighters.
Chairman of Avon Fire Authority Cllr Peter Abraham said: “The decision to close Keynsham and Brislington fire stations was made in 2014 as part of the Investing for the Future programme to make annual savings of £4.5m as a result of reductions in funding from central Government.
“The regeneration of Keynsham town centre meant we needed to move the existing Keynsham fire station. This provided us with an opportunity to amalgamate the part-time station at Keynsham and Brislington fire stations, which will both close, into a new whole-time fire station at Hicks Gate.”
Avon Fire & Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer Kevin Pearson said: “There will be a short period between the closure of Keynsham fire station and the opening of Hicks Gate but with crews responding from Brislington fire station, our response standards remain the same. Keynsham fire station was operated on a part-time basis with staff responding to 999 calls via a pager. Brislington fire station is crewed 24 hours a day so firefighters will be available to respond to calls immediately.”
As part of Investing for the Future, new stations are also being built at Temple Back and Filton, as well as a new headquarters initially earmarked for Keynsham although it emerged recently that a site at Emersons Green is also in the running. No final decision has yet been made.
The restructuring has also included the refurbishment of Kingswood fire station which merged with Speedwell.
