New share fire and ambulance station officially opened by Sleaford's MP

MP Dr Caroline Johnson officially opens the new Sleaford fire and ambulance station.

In a ceremony this morning, Dr Johnson cut the ribbon to the new building on East Road, which will also provide accommodation for 200 Sleaford-based adult and children's services workers from the county council and business support administrators in the upper floors, transferring from offices next to NKDC's buildings.

The £6m, purpose built facility will host around 38 EMAS ambulance clinicians and 24 fire staff and will also be home to the county's Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team.

Cllr Nick Worth, executive councillor for emergency services at the county council, said: “All of the old facilities were dated and would have required considerable investment to be modernised. The new facilities are excellent, and purpose-built for the needs of the crews.

“There are so many benefits to co-locating services in this way - saving money and building a better understanding of different ways of working. Wholetime and on-call firefighters can train and respond together with ambulance crews, in their community and beyond.”

Dr Johnson said: "It is a huge, huge honour and privilege to come and wield these scissors and open such a fantastic new facility that I know is going to make a huge difference to how you deliver services to people of Sleaford and the surrounding area.

"Ultimately it will save lives and make people's lives much, much better for the fact that you are able to get to them quicker and work together better going forwards."

Dr Johnson understood the vital work of ambulance crews having travelled in the back of some as a paediatric consultant and speaking up in support of the service in parliament. She added: "From a fire service point of view, in this week when we remember the people who so tragically died in Grenfell Tower it brings home to me what they do, going into a fire when everyone else would run away, I thank you for your work that do."

MP Dr Caroline Johnson with the ambulance crews based at the new station in Sleaford.

She also saw the importance of the work by the adult and children's service staff.

"You are going to collaborate together so much more effectively on one site because you will train and work together everyday and shows how working together can deliver even in these times of such tight budgets," she said