LIFE-SAVING defibrillators are to be fitted to all Oxfordshire fire engines to treat road crash victims.

The devices mean firefighters who are first on the scene will be able to restart patients’ hearts.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service chiefs hope the defibrillators will save vital minutes – and lives – if their crews arrive before paramedics.

The first defibrillator has been installed on an engine at Didcot Fire Station.

Watch manager Lee Newport said: “Due to the nature of our calls in recent years, we are seeing more lives lost in road accidents than fires.”

He said the service was receiving fewer fire callouts – due, he thought, to the community fire safety work it carried out.

He added: “I think the defibrillator will help us to save more lives and very soon every frontline fire engine in Oxfordshire will be fitted with one.

“The more defibrillators that are out there, the more chance people have of quicker intervention and a much improved chance of survival.”

Some firefighters are already trained in life-saving heart massage (CPR).

Mr Walker said: “In one incident in the last three months we were giving someone CPR on the side of the A34, prior to the arrival of the ambulance service.

“Now we have the defibrillator, it will enable us to provide a better service to the public and a higher level of medical intervention sooner.”

The Didcot engine has also been fitted with airbags for heavy lifting, hydraulic tools to cut metal and a thermal imaging camera.

The fire service plans to fit its entire 34-strong fleet with defibrillators in the coming year.

Better fire education, building materials and more fire alarms have seen blaze callouts fall from 2,148 in 2007/08 to 1,817 in 2011/12.

But the number of road accidents the fire service attends has remained at about 400 a year in the last five years.