On the 1st April, 1948, responsibility for the provision of the Fire Brigade passed from the National Fire Service to the first tier local authorities, e.g. Cornwall County Council, under the Fire Services Act, 1947. This resulted in the formation of the Cornwall County Fire Brigade.

Cornwall County Fire Brigade covers an area of approximately 354,700 hectares. It has over 522 kilometres of coastline which stretches from Bude on the North Coast around to Torpoint on the South Coast. Cornwall has a population of about 480,700 which increases during the summer season to approximately 740,500. It is the second largest county in the south west of England.

A total of 31 fire stations, strategically sited throughout the county, ensures that fire cover standards are met. They include two 24 hour shift fire stations, 5 day crewed fire stations and 24 retained fire stations. To ensure efficient supervision and co-ordination, the Brigade is divided into 8 Areas, the command centre for each Area is based at one of the fire stations and is responsible for between 2-4 retained fire stations within the respective Area.

The Brigade has over 600 uniformed personnel, two thirds comprising retained personnel, which highlights the importance of part-time firefighters within the Cornwall County Fire Brigade. All fire stations have a compliment of retained personnel who are called on when required by the use of pocket alerters.

The Brigade deals with over 7,000 incidents per year, ranging from large fires and serious road traffic accidents, to minor acts of help and assistance. All emergency calls within the county are routed through to Fire Control which is based at Brigade Headquarters in Truro and is staffed constantly. On receipt of an emergency call the operators quickly mobilise the personnel and appliances from the appropriate fire stations.

All fire stations throughout the Brigade are heavily involved with the local community and regularly hold Open Days so that the general public can meet the personnel and see the station and equipment which they use. Personnel also attend various functions throughout the county to promote fire safety education and awareness in the community.

The Brigade is very keen to encourage physical fitness, sporting and leisure activities. Families of Brigade personnel join in various social events such as station dances and children’s parties that are organised from time to time.

• If you have a fire, or suspect a fire of any size, DIAL 999 AND ASK FOR FIRE.

• We will deal with all fires in an efficient and professional manner.

• At all incidents we will use our training and equipment to keep damage to your property to a minimum.

• You will receive advice after the fire on getting things back to normal.

• If a person becomes trapped, for example in a road accident or a lift, DIAL 999 AND ASK FOR FIRE

We are trained and equipped to deal with a range of emergencies.

• Flooding • Aircraft crashes • Train incidents

• We will obtain advice from the RSPCA and if the animal is in distress we will immediately send you our suitably equipped firefighters.

• We will deal with all rescues compassionately.

• Once connected to our control room your call will be immediately answered by a trained fire control operator.