Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade

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Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade is a small, unpaid fire service in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. It operates from Bourges Boulevard and runs as a private brigade under a special contract with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. The brigade answers calls as directed by the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and is part of the county’s fire authority. The county also runs two full-time stations in Peterborough (Dogsthorpe and Stanground) and one retained station (Thorney). The Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade aims to keep a full crew of six on duty at all times. It has one station and one fire engine.

The brigade was founded in 1884 by local businessmen after concerns that the city’s previous fire service had failed to cope with a serious fire at the infirmary. The Fire Brigades Act of 1938 reorganized fire authorities, and during World War II fire services were combined into the National Fire Service. In 1947, the Fire Services Act transferred firefighting to county brigades. The nearby Soke of Peterborough merged with Huntingdonshire in 1965, and Huntingdon and Peterborough merged with Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely in 1974. Throughout these changes, the Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade remained a separate entity. In 1984, during its centenary, the brigade was granted the freedom of the city.