A decision has today been made, in principle, to merge the county’s fire control centre with that of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority.

The new hub will be located with Cambridgeshire’s existing control room, in Huntingdon.

A county spokesman said combining the two control functions will bring significant benefits for both services including greater resilience, shared technology and importantly, significant cash savings, which is a huge benefit in these difficult financial times when all fire and rescue services are facing severe cuts in their government funding.

Andy Fry, chief fire officer for Suffolk, said: “I am looking forward to working in partnership with colleagues from Cambridgeshire on detailed work associated with the proposal to establish a robust interim solution for Suffolk’s fire control. Through this shared arrangement we aim to provide high quality fire and rescue services in both Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.”

A joint project board will now be established to draw up more detailed plans.