It is a concern mirrored by union members who confirm that not only is the roof height in many stations too low to accommodate the new state-of-the-art Mercedes vehicles, but there is insufficient money within the service to refurbish buildings which, they claim, are suffering from years of neglect.
These small but relevant facts could, it is feared, hammer yet another nail in the coffin for the Alton station which is due to come under consideration for closure as part of the Hampshire Ambulance NHS Trust's strategic development plan.
Alarmed by the possible withdrawal of a local ambulance presence in Alton, Whitedown estate resident Martin Harding is calling on the local community to take a stand.
Having had several occasions to call upon the services of the Alton ambulance crews, he feels secure knowing that the local ambulance station is just round the corner, providing a point of contact in times of need.
While he has nothing but praise for frontline crews, his concern is over response times. Another member of his family has experienced a nerve-wracking delay when the ambulance was positioned elsewhere and took valuable time to make the round trip to Basingstoke hospital.
"An hour is too long to wait when you're talking about someone's life," said Mr Harding who is convinced that, if the Alton station closes, local patients will suffer.
"If people don't fight hard enough we will lose it," warned Mr Harding, who has written to Alton MP Michael Mates to express his concern over the possible closure of the local station.
He has since received a letter back from Mr Mates together with a copy of a letter from Hampshire Ambulance NHS Trust chief executive, Claire Severgnini, responding to an inquiry from the MP on the subject.
In it, Mrs Severgnini points out that one of the key change strategies in the trust's development plan is regarding its estate. Hampshire Ambulance Trust currently has 19 ambulance stations, some of which, she admitted, "are in a poor state of repair and others which are probably in the wrong location".
She continued: "Many members of the public do not realise that ambulance stations are vehicle collection points and for some of our crews, meal break points."
Mrs Severgnini explained that the trust uses a system status plan (SSP) which places ambulances strategically across the county on a daily basis and that vehicles are dispatched against the SSP and not from ambulance stations.
She continued: "The location of our vehicles during each shift is important to patient care and it is vital that they are off station and available to be deployed while mobile to avoid extra delay in reaching callers."
In her letter, Mrs Severgnini stated that the trust is reviewing its entire estate and will make decisions regarding which stations need to be repaired, replaced or relocated.
But, she assured Michael Mates: "Whether a large station remains in Alton or a designated standby point, I would like to reassure you that residents of Alton will still receive a good NHS ambulance service."
In forwarding the letter to Mr Harding, Mr Mates said he was pleased to receive Mrs Severgnini's reassurance but added: "Be sure I will keep an eye on this situation to see that they do (continue to provide a good service)."
The chairman of the Joint Shop Stewards' Committee, Jim Barnett, is opposed to station closures but fears it may be the only way the trust has to raise money for more ambulances.
"One of the problems is that the ambulance stations have been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair - that is not the fault of the public or of the crews but of bad management," pointed out the Alton-based paramedic.
"While Claire Severgnini and her team have only be in situ one year the money they have for maintaining the estates does not match the amount of repairs that need to be done to bring them up to standard."
Mr Barnett can understand Mr Harding's desire to maintain a local ambulance presence in the town and his concerns about the possible closure of the Alton station. He confirmed that the new ambulances will not fit into the station and, due to more sophisticated equipment, will require the installation of additional charging points.
He also said that surveyors measuring up the neighbouring Whitedown Special School site appear to have included the ambulance station site within their survey.
While understanding why the Ambulance Trust may feel under pressure to make cuts to its estates budget, Jim Barnett is of the opinion that the closure of local stations could lead to longer response times in rural areas and that, he says, would be "unacceptable".