An official 'topping out' ceremony has been held to mark a key milestone in the construction of the new training facility and fire station in Huntingdon.
The event took place last week to celebrate the highest point of the main building being complete.
The project involves building a modern, purpose-built training center and new community fire station at St John’s Park, north of Huntingdon.
Work in progress
Since construction began in September 2021, work has been progressing at pace at the new site. It will replace the current station and training center on Hartford Road in Huntingdon, providing a significant upgrade for the wholetime and on-call operational staff, as well as support staff from Occupational Health, Health and Safety, and Operational Support Group.
The training facility will offer effective, reliable, and realistic training for all operational staff, as well as giving much needed capacity to enable the Service to train more firefighters more often than the current site allows.
To officially mark the milestone, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service Deputy Chief Executive, Matthew Warren, was joined by key colleagues involved with the project from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and contractors Artisan.
A significant milestone
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been seeking to improve our operational training for many years
Taking to the roof to see the site from a birds eye view, Matthew commented: “This is a significant milestone for this project. You can really see how it’s taking shape and visualise the excellent facility it will be for our staff and our community.”
“We have been seeking to improve our operational training for many years and it’s fantastic to see how well work is progressing on this development.”
“It’s testament to the hard work and commitment of our staff and our contractors who are making it happen.”
Upon completion
The building work is anticipated to be completed in late 2022, with the station expected to be occupied by staff by early 2023. The budget for the project is just over £10.5 million.
The Service will be recruiting for more on-call firefighters to join the current Huntingdon on-call crew at the new station on Percy Road once it has moved.
The Service is keen to hear from people who are looking to do more in their community, live within five minutes of Percy Road and have a reasonable level of fitness.
Being on-call firefighter
Being an on-call firefighter is a paid role and the firefighters receive full and ongoing training for the job, supported by their team members.
To become an on-call firefighter, one must be aged 18 and over, have a good level of all-round fitness, and live or work within five minutes travelling time of an on-call fire station.