Surrey Fire and Rescue Serve has struck a £1.4m deal to share out its emergency control room.
The five-year deal will mean that the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service will be using Surrey’s emergency call headquarters as its control centre.
From early March all Isle of Wight emergency calls will be dealt with at Surrey’s headquarters in Reigate. Kay Hammond, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for community safety said: "There are clear benefits to be had through both fire and rescue services working together. We’ve spent a long time drafting this agreement to ensure it is in the best interests of both Surrey and the Isle of Wight. Safety is always our number one priority and by working together we’ll provide a first class service to the residents of both communities."
Steve Owen-Hughes, Surrey’s assistant chief fire officer, added: "We are in a strong position because we’ve been investing in new technology, which means we have the capacity to work with the Isle of Wight with no impact on Surrey. We’ll continue to invest in our mobilising and communications centre to further improve the excellent life-saving service we provide."
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