WMU are approved by the CAA to give training for a UK national licence. The fact that they are doing a 'hybrid' course is irrelevant, they have no approval to train for a JAA licence. Whichever way you cut it, no school outside the JAA is approved to give JAA training in its own right.
My information is that the JAR committee have met and have agreed that schools outside of JAA member states can give training for the JAA licence BUT...
They will have to comply in all respects with JAR-FCL1, the most restrictive part of which is that all instructors will have to hold JAA licences and instructor ratings. In this respect WMU is closest to compliance. Were a non-JAA school to apply for approval tomorrow the approval process on that first school is unlikely to be completed before September 2000. RC may have better information.
On the subject of fire cover, my comment was based in the information that approval of the OATS operation at Pompano was in the balance until it was pointed out that the local fire service had a station on the airfield boundary and could more than meet CAP168 response times. Perhaps things have changed since Parafield was approved, it was some years ago. Then again Parafield was approved for CAA training under CAP 509, we are now talking about JAA training under JAR-FCL1.