It is therefore SOP to respond to an aircraft incident with a preset number of appliances. Any surplus ones can then return, if not required. Far safer all round.
A valid approach - up to a point. In my experience, some fire brigade management is too hidebound by this theory and, in ATC, we sometimes really wonder if it is a waste of breath telling them that there are only 2 POB, the aircraft will not be landing for another half-hour and the problem is such that it will still land at the aerodrome. "Far safer all round..."? - not for the local community that has its emergency services depleted. I appreciate that this argument did not apply in this case where the scale of the potential problem could not be assessed from the initial calls.
2 s