London & South East Premier Construction

Burwell Fire Station

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Written by Roma Publications

A new fire station is being built in the village of Burwell, Cambridgeshire.

Previously the site of a disused highways agency depot, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) is redeveloping the site into a new top of the range fire station just a few meters away from the old one.

The new site, located on land adjacent to the existing station in Reach Road, will be home to on-call firefighters (those who respond to alerters when they are needed for an incident) from both Burwell and Swaffham Bulbeck when it opens later this year. CFRS held a public consultation last year to seek the views of local residents on the amalgamation of the two rural fire stations, with 88 per cent of responses in favour of it.

Danny Rust, Estates and Property Manager for CFRS said:

“The new station in Burwell is important for the Service as it’s the first we’ve built since 1977 solely for on-call firefighters.”

Working with main contractors SEH French and architects-come-project-managers Ingleton Wood, CFRS has been working on the project since February and hope that phase one, the new station, will be open in early September. The price of the renovation is around £1 million and all equipment and furnishings have been procured to ensure once construction is completed, the crew can move in quickly to provide a continuous service to the local community.

The new station will be a significant improvement to the areas current fire service facilities. The building is one storey, but incorporated is a two storey training building, which wasn’t at either of the old stations. On-call firefighters train for two hours per week during so the crew will be able to keep up their competence on site rather than having to travel to another location in Cambridgeshire. The site will also house facilities for the community.

The construction is being completed in accordance with the fire safety regulations. The exterior appearance is brickwork and cladding. The garages for the fire engines were created using steel frames, and other areas were constructed in a conventional way. The bricks used were locally sourced ‘Burwell white bricks’.

Danny added:

“The new station will provide a better facility for the crew as well as the local community. The site has been carefully selected and will regenerate land that was once derelict.”

Phase two of the redevelopment includes the closing down and conversion of the old Burwell fire station, which remains open and in use until the opening of the new one.

For more information visit: www.cambsfire.gov.uk.

SEH French

SEH French specialise in main contracting works across the board for projects such as schools, healthcare services and social housing. SEH French have been in operation since 1983 and in this time have completed a number of prestigious construction projects with the NHS, Suffolk County Council, Orwell housing association, Flagship housing association and Essex police.

Working on the new Burwell fire station, SEH French were the main contractors for the building.

Simon Girling, Director of SEH French said:

“It was important for us to work on the Burwell fire station because of the high profile, it was well administered, and the fire service is a good organisation for us to work with, as well as the project managers, Ingleton Wood.”

He added:

“We pride ourselves in doing the job properly, we invest in training to ensure that all jobs are done correctly and professionally; working with clients rather than for them.”

 

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Roma Publications