Strikes staged by members of the Fire Brigades Union in their dispute over pensions ended this morning (Monday, November 4) without major incident.

Emergency calls made to 999 were covered by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, of which there was only one this morning and that was a false alarm when an automatic fire alarm went off.

During a strike on Friday, between 6 and 11pm, there were five incidents – two false alarms, two collisions on the A14, and a fire involving rubbish thought to be started deliberately on open ground in Thongsley, Huntingdon. This was extinguished with a hose reel.

The first false alarm was an automatic alarm which had gone off and the second was contained burning and did not require attention by the fire crew. The first collision involved a car and a van which set on fire and three crews attended. The second involved two lorries but no fire service assistance was needed.

Chris Strickland, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, said: “Although the service we provided was considerably impacted, we were able to use our own staff and fire engines to respond to all 999 calls.”

The FBU says proposed changes to pensions would make firefighters pay more and work longer – raising issues about older firefighters being able to cope with the physical demands of the job.