Chief Fire Officer's Message

We need your help

I was delighted to take over as chief fire officer in September last year, having been assistant chief fire officer since 2004 when I moved to Cambridgeshire from London Fire Brigade.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is rated as a 'good' fire and rescue service and has been recognised by government inspectors as performing and improving well over the last few years.

My vision for this Service is that we continue to provide a high standard of service to the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.  We will continue to provide good value for money and be innovative in our approach, as well as learn and take best practice from our colleagues in other fire and rescue services.

Over the last five years there has been a notable downward trend in the number of fires, arsons and deaths and injuries from fires in the home, and we will do all we can to continue this trend over the coming years.

We will continue to review our performance and the way we do things through our Service Improvement Plan and through a continuous internal audit programme.  And where we can make improvements to make our service more effective and efficient we will.

But we also need your help.

Most fires in the home we attend could have been prevented.  They are caused by people not being as vigilant as they could be with things like candles, cooking, lighters and cigarettes.

Some people still do not have smoke alarms in their homes, and a large proportion of the people that do, don't test them regularly enough to check they are still working.

Advice about how to keep safe from fire in your home is given in our Fire Safety in the Home section.  And if you do not have a smoke alarm, we will come and fit one for free. All you have to do is book a home fire safety check, which is also free.

We would also like your help to improve our service further.  If you have an opinion about any aspect of our role or the service we provide, then please let us know.

Together, we really can help make Cambridgeshire a safer place to live.