It is crewed by locals who operate in the same manner as retained fire service personnel. However, being volunteers, they do not guarantee availability. Kingston Fire Station was set up in September 1949, just after the water main was laid.
Mervyn Freeman has been in charge since his father, Viv, retired in 1992. The crew attend about 30 calls a year. They currently have a unique vehicle, the South Ham's only 4-wheel-drive fire engine, based on a Mercedes 814DA chassis, built at the Crownhill workshops of the old Devon fire and rescue service in 1998, a far cry from the 15-year-old ex Cornwall Land Rover it replaced.