Latest news with #JonLacey
BBC News
30-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service opens new control room after move
A fire and rescue service has opened a new control room after it decided to stop sharing one with another Fire and Rescue Service announced it would no longer share a control room with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority in Huntingdon in 2023. Suffolk County Council made the decision after it believed the system was "no longer fit for purpose". The authority opened the new £1.6m site in Ipswich on 24 June, following a six-month delay. The project took 18 months to complete, which the council said was "a short timeframe for a project of this scale". Twenty-three new members of staff have been hired to work in the control room. The council said it would be collaborating with Norfolk and Hertfordshire fire services, which were adopting the same technology systems. It said the control room could see calls being handled in those counties during busy periods or during larger emergencies such as flooding. The new technology allows control room staff to work remotely, however the BBC understands it would only be used where necessary, such as if the building needed to be evacuated or weather conditions stopped staff from getting to work, rather than routine working from home. Jon Lacey, the chief fire officer for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: "This project is about making sure every call for help is answered with speed, precision and care. "Bringing services back into the county was a decisive move to put Suffolk's residents and public value at the heart of emergency response." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fire crews return to woodland as blaze reignites
Crews have returned to the scene of a forest fire for a second day after it reignited. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service staff travelled to a remote area close to Barton Mills, near Mildenhall, at 05:00 BST for an inspection after Monday's incident. They saw a large plume of smoke from a distance and, upon arrival, found 150m (492ft) of forest undergrowth well alight. Six pumps have been called back to the scene, where eight fire crews and a tanker from RAF Lakenheath tackled the blaze on Monday. Jon Lacey, the chief fire officer for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC Radio Suffolk he expected the crews to be "in and out" of the forest over the next few days. "We'll keep vigilant, we'll keep an eye on the weather... we'll be checking how dry the woodland is, making sure fires don't restart after they've been extinguished and we regularly go back to check them," he said. Mr Lacey said the fire service had seen a busier start to this year's wildfire season, likely due to previous wet weather causing foliage and grass to grow before recent warm weather dried it all out. The cause of the fire is unknown at the moment, as Mr Lacey said it could be hard to determine where wildfires begin, but investigations were ongoing. He urged people to remain cautious: "Please be careful not to have barbecues, open fires, or discard your cigarettes or matches anywhere where there might be forest, woodland or grass." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Eight fire crews and RAF tanker fight forest blaze Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fire crews return to woodland as blaze reignites
Crews have returned to the scene of a forest fire for a second day after it reignited. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service staff travelled to a remote area close to Barton Mills, near Mildenhall, at 05:00 BST for an inspection after Monday's incident. They saw a large plume of smoke from a distance and, upon arrival, found 150m (492ft) of forest undergrowth well alight. Six pumps have been called back to the scene, where eight fire crews and a tanker from RAF Lakenheath tackled the blaze on Monday. Jon Lacey, the chief fire officer for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC Radio Suffolk he expected the crews to be "in and out" of the forest over the next few days. "We'll keep vigilant, we'll keep an eye on the weather... we'll be checking how dry the woodland is, making sure fires don't restart after they've been extinguished and we regularly go back to check them," he said. Mr Lacey said the fire service had seen a busier start to this year's wildfire season, likely due to previous wet weather causing foliage and grass to grow before recent warm weather dried it all out. The cause of the fire is unknown at the moment, as Mr Lacey said it could be hard to determine where wildfires begin, but investigations were ongoing. He urged people to remain cautious: "Please be careful not to have barbecues, open fires, or discard your cigarettes or matches anywhere where there might be forest, woodland or grass." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Eight fire crews and RAF tanker fight forest blaze Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service
