Leytonstone’s new fire station has officially opened this week as part of a major £51.5m rebuilding programme across the capital.

Located on the same High Road site, the new building replaces the old station which served the community for 100 years.

It includes three larger vehicles bays which are better able to accommodate the service’s latest fire engines, a four storey drill tower for training, offices and meeting rooms, a gym, lecture and quiet study rooms and a kitchen and dining area for firefighters.

There are separate shower, changing and resting areas that can be modified to accommodate the different male to female ratio on each watch.

The rebuilt station also includes areas the public can visit to access fire safety information, as well as a community room which will be available for bookings.

The building draws energy for power and heating from renewable sources including solar panels.

The construction project is part of the London Fire Brigade’s ongoing Private Finance Initiative (PFI) programme that will eventually see nine of London’s fire stations coming to the end of their life-span replaced by brand new buildings.

Building work on the new Leytonstone station began in December 2014 and was carried out by the Brigade’s PFI delivery partner Blue3, a Kier-led consortium.

During the construction phase of the project Leytonstone’s firefighters and appliances operated out of Leyton fire station.

Waltham Forest’s borough commander Jamie Jenkins said: "This brand new fire station is good news for our firefighters and good news for the local community.

“The previous station had served the community well for many years but was coming to the end of its working life and no longer met the demands of a modern fire and rescue service.

"This fantastic new station provides us with facilities fit for the 21st century and reinforces our commitment to providing the best possible fire service to the people of Leytonstone and Waltham Forest and to London as a whole.”