Ambulance crews in Lincoln have moved into a new state-of-the art flagship building just metres away from their former ambulance station.
Ambulance staff will now share the station with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and will eventually work in close quarters with Lincolnshire Police who are due to transfer over in Autumn 2019.
This tri-service building is the first of its kind in the country where all three 999 services are under one roof.
Sue Cousland, General Manager for the Lincolnshire division of EMAS said: "The building is superb with much better facilities for both Fire and Ambulance so far. We are looking forward to having the police join us later this year.
Where we once had three old sites across the county for the three emergency services, we know operate under one roof, which means we are being cost effective as a trust while still maintaining care standards for the community we serve."
Some staff were based at the old station for the past forty years, and while there are inevitably going to be some mixed feelings about the move, many are excited about the next chapter.
Paramedic Matthew Wilkson said: "I have worked at the previous Lincoln Ambulance Station for ten years and while I do have fond memories of the place, I am looking forward to this collaboration.
"We will be able to interact more fluidly with Fire and Police, developing a greater understanding of each others individual requirements when we respond to an emergency situation."
The facilities for staff at South Park include a gym, dining booths where people can eat and chat with their work mates on breaks, showers and quiet rooms.
Another invaluable resource at South Park will be the joint training rooms.
This provides opportunities for EMAS to work together with the Fire service to create a cohesive unit when it comes to responding to 999 calls out in the field.
Ambulance Operations Manager, Paul Litherland said: "There are two joint training rooms for the Fire and Ambulance services which are positioned next to each other with a sliding partition door.
"This will give us the opportunity to have a detailed and structured de-brief about previous incidents in which Fire and Ambulance would have attended together, so we will constantly develop our response strategies."
Mike Naylor, Director of Finance and IT at EMAS said: "We are going in the national direction of travel and we realise that this is a really exciting time to collaborate as it provides excellent job training opportunities.
"The resources in the new building are second to none for the staff and will be more cost effective for the trust moving forward.
"If you've ever been interested in working for any of the emergency services, what better place would there be to work than at South Park?"
