The Peterborough Volunteer fire station is a unique fire station not just for Cambridgeshire, but for the UK. It's two fire engines are crewed by firefighters in the same way as a retained fire station - but the volunteers firefighters do not get paid, they give their service for free.

The volunteer station operates as a private fire brigade under a unique contract with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority and as such comes under the jurisdiction of the county chief fire officer for responding to emergencies and training. All potential volunteer firefighters also go through the same recruitment process as wholetime and retained firefighters.  

The volunteer firefighters train for two hours once a week during their training evening, which is held on a Tuesday between 7pm and 9pm. 

History of the Volunteers

The Volunteer brigade was formed in 1884 by a group of Peterborough businessmen after they believed the efforts of the Corporation Brigade, as it was then, had been ineffective following a serious fire at the Infirmary. The Volunteer brigade has managed to remain a separate entity since then despite a number of reorganisation of the fire and rescue service since then, such as the major change in 1941 when over 1,600 separate fire brigades merged into the national Fire Service, and in 1948 when the fire service was returned to local authority control. 

The brigade's motto is 'Ready and Willing'. 

(Source: 110 Years of Fire and Rescue - A Celebration of the Work of the Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade by Neil Wallington)