Fire station in Peterborough closes its doors for a week

The station in Dogsthorpe closed on Monday to allow for the upgrading and general maintenance of the electrics, prompting a temporary re-location to the station in Stanground.

However, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews spend most of their working day on trips in the community.

A spokeswoman said: “The fire engine, rescue vehicle and fire crew will use Stanground Fire Station as a base, however, as the majority of the time the crew work and train in the community, they will be in the local area as normal.

“Other than the location at which they are based, everything else is business as normal. Fire crews at all Cambridgeshire’s wholetime and day-crewed fire stations do not sit on station waiting for a 999 emergency. A vast majority of their working day is spent carrying out planned activities in the community which include visits to businesses, education in schools, and training in different locations.”

Asked whether crews might take longer to attend a fire due to not being based in Dogsthorpe, the spokeswoman added: “The time it takes crews to get to an emergency depends on where they are and what activities they are doing in relation to where the emergency is.

“Our combined fire control will always send the nearest fire engine to any emergency at the time the call comes in so people in the community can rest assured they are always getting the fastest response to an incident.”

For fire safety information, you can log on to www.cambsfire.gov.uk. And to contact a member of staff usually based at Dogsthorpe Fire Station call 01480 444500.

In an emergency, always dial 999.