Suffolk & Cambridgeshire: Fire Control Merge

Suffolk Fire and Rescue is telling Heart that we won't see any changes to the standard of service after the control centre merged with the one in Cambridgeshire last night.

The new control room will now take 999 calls from both Suffolk and Cambridgshire at the combined centre in Huntingdon in Cambridgshire.

It means each fire service will save around £400,000 per year.

Of the 24 staff in the existing Suffolk control room, 18 have been made redundant, with five of those taking early retirement on pension arrangements and six have moved across to Huntingdon.

The new system went live at 8pm last night (Tuesday), with both fire services reporting that all systems are working "smoothly".

Mark Sanderson, Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said: "We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the hard work and loyalty that all control operators have shown.

We recognise that it's been a difficult time for staff over the last few years, with changes brought about by the Regional Control Centre project and also the Combined Control project and we pay tribute to their hard work and dedication.

In order to make the project a success, a great deal of work has taken place, not only in fire control, but also behind the scenes."

Neil Newberry, Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We don't expect that anyone dialling 999 will notice a difference to the way that their emergency calls are being taken.

The Combined Fire Control also gives us the opportunity to work together in the future and further improve the service we offer to those in both counties."

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