It was established in 1998 when Peterborough City became a unitary authority.  In some counties, the delivery of the fire and rescue service is the responsibility of the county council, however, in counties such as Cambridgeshire where unitary authorities exist, a separate Fire Authority is set up to run the fire service and this is made up of councillors from both the county council and unitary councils.

The make-up of the Fire Authority

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority has 17 elected members, all of whom are serving councillors.  There are 13 members appointed by Cambridgeshire County Council and four members from Peterborough City Council, reflecting the proportion of tax payers in each of the two council areas.

The political make-up of the Fire Authority reflects the number of members from the political parties on each of the appointing county and unitary authorities. A Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected annually.

For current membership details see Membership.

Responsibilities of the Fire Authority

The main responsibilities of the Fire Authority are set out in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 and include:

• Promoting fire safety
• Protecting life and property from fires
• Rescuing people from road traffic collisions.

The Fire Authority makes decisions about how the local fire and rescue service operates and reviews performance and policies.  It also sets the budget each year and decides the corporate priorities.