Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service News

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is seeking feedback on its plan for the next four years. All fire and rescue services have to produce a document called an Integrated Risk Management Plan which contains information about its local community, the risks, and opportunities the Service faces, and how it plans to manage them. This culminates in a list of priorities that the Service will focus on over the next four years. The draft plan has been agreed upon by the Fire Authority and is out for...

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) releases the final set of fire and rescue service inspection scores, confirming that Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is one of the best in the country. The Inspectorate has spent the last 18 months assessing all fire and rescue services and has done so in three tranches. Cambridgeshire was one of the first to be visited and last December received its rating of ‘Good’ in each of the three...

With the festive season only around the corner, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is encouraging families to stay fire safe over Christmas. Simple things like remembering batteries for new toys rather than using the ones in a smoke alarm, making sure electric sockets are not overloaded and keeping cooking surfaces cluttered free, can all help to prevent a fire in the home. Mistakes during the festive season  Kitchen Group Commander Paul Clarke, head of Community Fire Safety, said,...

A Cambridgeshire firefighter becomes the first female at March Fire Station to be the officer in charge of emergency incidents and qualified to drive a fire engine. Firefighter Vicky Vata was successful at the crew’s drill night on late November 2019 where she was assessed by officers from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s training center. The qualification, known as ‘safe to ride’ means Vicky will ride a fire engine as the officer in charge of an incident, taking...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has welcomed a group of eight new firefighter recruits. They join the Service as the first ever cohort to undertake the Firefighter Foundation Development Programme in Cambridgeshire. Intensive training course Over the last two months, they have been completing an intensive training course at The Fire Service College in Gloucestershire. They will continue their development over the next 22 months, as they begin their operational careers on the...

More than £13,000 has been raised by Cambridgeshire firefighters in 2019 from car wash events as part of The Fire Fighters Charity National Car Wash League. Firefighters from stations around the county dug out their sponges and buckets and welcomed people with all manner of vehicles, from cars and vans to children’s bikes and mobility scooters to raise money for the charity. The community came out in force to show their support for the crews. Raising Donation Amount More than &pou...

Halloween and Bonfire Night can be plenty of fun for all of the family to enjoy, but with lots of potential hazards, it’s really important to keep the user and their family safe. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is encouraging people to enjoy the autumn festivities safely by following some simple safety advice. Organized fireworks display Group Commander Paul Clarke, the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Head of Community Fire Safety, said: “We wish everyone a h...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS), has partnered with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Pharmacies, Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council Public Health, and Anglia Ruskin University, to launch a joint campaign to raise awareness of the fire risk of emollients. In Cambridgeshire, the use of emollients was noted as a contributing factor in a fire fatality, following a house fire in Cambridge, as we...

Peterborough firefighters were buzzing to help a local project to enhance the environment for bees. Last week (Monday, September 23) firefighters from Green Watch at Dogsthorpe Fire Station attended an environmental initiative called Jimmy’s Bee’s at the newly built Connect Park in Millfield, Peterborough, United Kingdom (UK). The crew joined volunteers from the community to dig the grass up, sew and plant wildflower seeds in order to create a fantastic haven for bees. The project w...

In September 2019, fire service staff and volunteers will be hosing down cars at Stanground, St Neots, Cambridge and Ely Fire Stations, in order to raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes are welcome, and owners of mobility scooters, vans, trucks and even push chairs have been known to turn up for their wheels to be scrubbed at past car washes. Raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity The event will be raising money for The Fire Fighters Charity, which pro...

Cambridge firefighters will once again be opening the doors of Cambridge fire station to give the public a glimpse of life on the front line. The city’s fire station, on Parkside Place will be taking part in the Open Cambridge event on Friday (13) and Saturday (14) September along with many other venues across the city. Open Cambridge is in its 12th year, and is a hugely popular celebration of Cambridge’s history, architecture, art, and gardens and is run by the University of C...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) is offering businesses fire safety advice as part of the National Fire Chiefs Council's (NFCC's) Business Safety Week 2019. The campaign runs from 9th - 15th September and aims to provide those who are with responsibility for businesses and public buildings with information and advice to reduce the number of fire incidents and false alarms in the workplace, both of which impact business safety and productivity. Reviewing risk assessments The week...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has entered into an agreement with the Rapid Relief Team to support firefighters when they are attending prolonged incidents by providing food and refreshments. The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) is a non-profit charitable organization. Its volunteers are members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and their mission is to provide voluntary support to the emergency services at large scale incidents. The volunteers make themselves available to support emergen...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) is reminding local householders to ensure their chimney is fire safe as part of National Chimney Fire Safety Week (Monday 2 to Sunday 8 September 2019). Chimney Fire Safety Week was first introduced in 2009 and aims to raise awareness of safe chimney and log burner use, including the importance of ensuring that chimneys are swept regularly, are clean, and appropriate quality fuel is used to help keep families safe from fire. chimney fires Although...

Flooding, severe weather, prolonged power cut, heat wave, large smoke plume, chemical leak, how to cope in an emergency situation? Cambridgeshire’s emergency services and other Local Resilience Forum (LRF) partners, such as local authorities, Cambridgeshire County Council, health organizations and the Environment Agency, are joining forces for the whole of September 2019, in order to share top tips and advice to help get local residents prepared for a number of different emergency situati...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) is excited to announce that recruitment for wholetime firefighters opens next week. People interested in becoming wholetime firefighters will need to register online before they can apply. Registration opens at 9 am on Monday 2 September and will stay open until midnight on Sunday 15 September at 23.59pm. firefighter recruitment campaign Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland said, "We’re excited to launch our wholetime firefighter recruitment...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has entered into an agreement with the Rapid Relief Team to support firefighters when they are attending prolonged incidents by providing food and refreshments. The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) is a non-profit charitable organization. Its volunteers are members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and their mission is to provide voluntary support to the emergency services at large scale incidents. Supporting emergency services The volunteers make themsel...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is the first fire service in the UK to achieve the ISO 45001 accreditation with a 100 percent pass rate. ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System is the world’s first International Standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). It was introduced in 2018 and replaces the previous British Standard of OHSAS 18001 in the organization. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been working closely with staff and partners to ens...

Huntingdon Fire Station is opening its doors to the public on Saturday August 10 for a free event that promises something for all the family. The station will be open for members of the public to come and find out what life is like at a fire station and take a look around our fire engines. Activities on the day include dunk a firefighter, raffle, face painting, and a BBQ. There’ll also be a vintage fire engine and memorabilia on show. They’ll be joined by colleagues from Cambridgesh...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is looking for Emergency Call Handlers to join its Combined Fire Control. As the first port of call for emergency calls from residents and businesses across Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, the role is a key part of the Service, helping people in need of help while also sending fire engines and officers to their locations.  application window The rewarding role involves helping people in their time of need and is an outstanding way to serve the local com...

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority has expressed huge disappointment at the news it has not been successful in its fight to prevent the transfer of governance of the fire and rescue service to the Police and Crime Commissioner. The outcome of the judicial review, which took place last month, was announced and the judge has upheld the Home Office’s decision to allow the Police and Crime Commissioner to take over governance of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service from the Fire...

Cambridgeshire firefighters will be able to practice life-saving rescue techniques after a generous donation from Volvo Truck and Bus Centre in East Anglia. Firefighters regularly use vehicles such as motorbikes, cars and vans for road traffic collision training. Realising there was a need for training on larger vehicles in the service, Watch commander Matt House initiated a relationship with Rob Wilson from Volvo Peterborough dealer point to start training exercises in the fire service. Road...

With temperatures hitting significant highs of over 30°C this week, CFRS would like to remind residents of important outdoor fire safety and water safety advice. Station Commander Ed Miller, Community Risk Manager at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We want to help ensure that people enjoy the warm weather while it’s here but there are a few things people can do to make sure they do so safely.” Preventing an outdoor fire “High temperatures and dry are...

An incredible £91,000 was raised for The Fire Fighters Charity in Cambridgeshire during last year, thanks to the hard work of colleagues and the generosity of the public. Colleagues and volunteers across the county with the support of the local communities took part in events and activities to raise money for the national charity that supports UK fire service personnel and their families. Fire and steam show From events alone, over £33,000 was raised throughout the year. This incl...

Dogsthorpe Fire Station is opening its doors to the public on Saturday, 6th July 2019 for a free event that promises something for all the family. The station will be open for members of the public to come and find out what life is like at a fire station and take a look around fire engines. Also joining the event is Gemma’s Hearts, who’ll be raising awareness of cardiac arrests and teaching CPR, a valuable lifesaving skill. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Road Safety Partnership wil...

A large stack fire, that was started deliberately, has had crews at the scene tackling it since the early hours of the morning, preventing them from being available to attend to other emergencies. The fire, on Blackmoor Drove near Mepal, started at 2.15 am on Thursday (6th June 2019) and involves around 2,500 tonnes of straw. One crew from Chatteris initially attended and found a fire involving two large stacks of bailed straw well alight that was spreading to a third stack. Firefighters worke...

March Fire Station recently hosted a week-long Safety Zone for primary school students from across Fenland. The Safety Zone, organized by the Fenland Community Safety Partnership, saw more than 450 students attend during the week to help develop their understanding of being safe at home and outdoors. Firefighters from March, along with the Service’s community champions, delivered information about fire safety in the home and staying safe around open water. Other work stations included ro...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has issued safety advice about the use of incense sticks after they were involved in two separate house fires. Crews attended a house fire in Keyston in Huntingdonshire on the morning of April 30, while less than an hour later crews were called to a similar fire in Soham. Spreading aromatic scents A fire service spokesman said: “These fires were both started by incense sticks that had been left unattended. Lighting incense is a common and po...

A significant number of deliberate fires across the county during April has sparked concern for fire officers. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s firefighters responded to 91 fires that were started deliberately last month, an increase of 34 from the previous month and 48 more than last year. These incidents were spread across various locations, with some specific areas showing considerable activity. Nine separate fires In Huntingdonshire, 19 deliberate fires were reported, with t...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is supporting the National Fire Chiefs Council's (NFCC) Be Water Aware campaign. The week-long campaign runs from April 29 - May 5 2019 and is a national campaign which aims to highlight the risk of accidental drowning. Half of the accidental drownings happened in 2017 when people didn't even intend to go in the water. Activities such as running, walking, fishing and cycling near water can put the users at risk of drowning. In 2017: 255 people accident...