Firefighters welcomed Bob Neill MP to the new Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service headquarters.

The fire minister was given a tour and briefing by Acting Chief Fire Officer Alex Bennett and other senior staff. The visit was scheduled as part of Mr Neill's tour of the region.

Alex Bennett said: "We were pleased to welcome the minister to our new community fire station and headquarters. It was useful meeting to update him on our current work across the county and discuss plans for the future."

Bob Neill MP said: "I was delighted to have to opportunity to meet with Alex Bennett and to be shown around the Northumberland Headquarters West Hartford fire station. This new community fire station was delivered on time and to budget, providing local communities, not only with a modern fire service, but also with opportunities to improve fire safety through easy access to local fire stations."

The Prince of Wales officially opened the new headquarters on 25th October last year. The state-of-the-art building in West Hartford, near Cramlington, was completed in August 2010.

West Hartford was one of five new fire stations completed in 2010 as part of the North East Fire and Rescue Authorities (NEFRA) project. A new community fire station opened in Pegswood, near Morpeth, in June 2010.

The new headquarters and community fire station at West Hartford is equipped with three firefighting appliances including a response unit for terrorist and other incidents. These are operated by one part-time and two full-time crews. West Hartford is also a base for two North East Ambulance Service response units and crews.

The design and construction of both West Hartford and Pegswood stations are environmentally friendly achieving BREEAM (energy efficiency rating) of between 'very good' and 'excellent'.

 

Posted September 13th, 2011 at 1005 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com