Visitors from China share insights with county’s fire service

A delegation from China was given a tour of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Services headquarters in Huntingdon. Pictures: UKFCP (Image: Archant)

Members of the Shanghai Municipal Defence Office visited Huntingdon on September 26 and were joined by the chairman of the UK Federation of Chinese Professionals, Peter Kwok.

After a meeting with Chris Parker, Ben Fawcitt and Simon Thompson, area and station commanders for the fire service, the visitors were taken on a tour of the facility and of the fire service training centre.

A brief introduction about the service was given to the delegation team, explaining the service's operating structure in multiple aspects: the main emergency service roles, the vision and strategic aims, the core values, and emergency planning.

The last part of the visit was a seminar. In the seminar, the team from Shanghai and the commanders from the fire service shared their experiences and particular insights of managing emergency services.

A spokesman for UK Federation of Chinese Professionals said: "The visit was especially meaningful event for both teams. The discussion and the experiences shared in the seminar inspired many ideas and implied a possibility of a bilateral co-operation in the near future."

Chris Parker, the group commander at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "It was an honour to welcome delegates from the Shanghai Municipal Civil Defence Office. Having the opportunity to share our experiences and discuss some of the work we undertake as a fire service in the UKwas extremely beneficial for both parties. "Although we are a small organisation in comparison to that in Shanghai, it was great to see that fundamentally we are both striving for the same thing, and that is to ensure the safety of the communities we serve."