FIREFIGHTERS in Blackburn will be working under a lawn as the new community fire station will have a grass roof.

Insects and birds are expected to flock to the new 'bio-diverse' building in Canterbury street when it is completed at the beginning of next year.

Part of the roof will be covered in a layer of earth sown with drought-resistant plants, called sedums, trapping huge quantities of rainwater that would otherwise go straight into the nearest drains.

The hardy alpine plants spend their days transforming CO2, the main greenhouse gas, into oxygen and the patch of greenery will also attract wildlife to the area.

Chris Fogarty, watch manager at Blackburn Fire Station, said: "It will be like a living roof that will be able to rejuvenate itself every year as it is extremely resilient and needs little maintenance.

"It will also provide an environment for insects and promote biodiversity. There is a lot of wasted space on the tops of buildings in towns and this is a good way to make use of it."

Work on the site reached a milestone this week as the steel structure and the roof were completed.

The building, just across the road from the present fire station on Byrom Street, is being built as part of a PFI programme which will see 16 fire stations built across Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside.

Lancashire’s four new fire stations will be built by Mansell, a Balfour Beatty company, at Blackburn, Chorley, Burnley and Fleetwood.

The building is expected to be completed in February 2012.

Lancashire’s Chief Fire Officer, Peter Holland, said: “The project is running on target and it will be a major boost for Lancashire and for Blackburn when it is completed.

“The four new Community Fire Stations will offer tremendous facilities as a base for our fire safety work in those areas.”