Fire service celebrates 50th anniversary

25/03/2024

Celebrations are underway as Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service turns 50 years old.

The Service will be marking the anniversary with a range of events and activities throughout the year, with crews hosting events at stations and staff celebrating the milestone across the county.

Residents are also encouraged to get involved by leaving their comments and memories of the Service in an online book available on the Service’s website, as well as sharing any photos of interactions with crews over the years.

Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland said: “We are really proud to be celebrating half a century of serving our communities across the county as Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. Everyone who joins us does so because they hold a strong desire to help others and we’re honoured to have been doing that for 50 years.

“We have lots of plans to celebrate our 50th birthday throughout the coming year, from open days and fundraisers and internal celebrations, plus a few surprises along the way. We’re really excited to involve local people in our plans as the year goes on.”

Although this year marks 50 years of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, firefighting in the county dates back decades before this.
Prior to 1964, four fire authorities operated in the area we now know as Cambridgeshire; Soke of Peterborough, Huntingdon County, Isle of Ely and Cambridge City. In 1965 these merged into two fire authorities known as Huntingdon and Peterborough, and Cambs and the Isle of Ely. These brigades operated until 1974, when local government reorganised to create the county of Cambridgeshire, and thus Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service was born. The Service also led the way by being the first to include ‘Rescue’ in its name, recognising the wider response the Service provided.

More information about the 50th anniversary celebrations and how you can leave your memories, can be found in our About Us section.