9 November 2026

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Fire & Rescue

All the latest fire and rescue news from across Bedford Borough. Everything you need to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Bedford Borough on your mobile or desktop via the Bedford Independent.

The Bedford Independent was founded to provide the people of Bedford Borough with a modern news desk that would give them easy access to genuine and unbiased Bedford news. We are independent in ownership and opinion.

Our mission is to inform and inspire the people of Bedford. To do this we will work hard to bring them the news that matters to them from our town centre to the most rural of the Borough’s villages.

Our editorial team are NCTJ trained and follows a standards code set out by the independent press regulator IMPRESS Standards.

Displaced Cleat Hill residents to be asked what would help them feel safe to return home

People living in and near Cleat Hill, whose homes were evacuated last month (19 October) after an explosion killed two in the area, are to be asked what would help them feel safe enough to return...

Cleat Hill locals updated on explosion investigation as homes stay empty and road remains closed

People displaced by the explosion in Cleat Hill, Bedford two weeks ago have been given further updates about the investigation into the incident at a public meeting. People who live in the evacuation area...

WATCH: Bedford on-call firefighters ready to help anyone in need at a moment’s notice

Ready to help at a moment's notice whenever anyone needs them, on-call firefighters at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (BFRS) are a vital part of the county's emergency response...

Woman becomes second victim of Cleat Hill explosion

A woman, who was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries following an explosion at a home in Cleat Hill, Bedford has died. Julia Harris, 84, was taken to hospital on Saturday...

Displaced Cleat Hill residents allowed back into their homes to collect belongings

Bedford Borough Council has confirmed that every person who was evacuated from their home in Cleat Hill following a gas explosion has now had a chance to access their property....

Family pay tribute to 85-year-old man who lost his life in Cleat Hill explosion

The family of the 85-year-old man who died following an explosion and fire in Bedford have paid tribute to him, describing him as a "kind and loving man". Paul Swales died on Saturday, 20 October after emergency services attended reports of a..

Public safety “a priority” as 100m Cleat Hill cordon remains in place

Residents were told that a 100m cordon will remain in place at Cleat Hill as the emergency services and Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigate the cause of the gas explosion that killed one person on Saturday (19 October)...

Health and Safety Executive joins investigation into Cleat Hill explosion

The Bedford Independent has learned that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, has been asked to join a police investigation...

Cleat Hill homes still out of bounds after explosion

Bedford Borough Council has said it will no longer be able to allow visits to homes evacuated after an explosion in Cleat Hill at the weekend due to safety concerns but that they hope to "resolve...

999 staff verbally abused during Bedfordshire’s “biblical floods” last month

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service control room staff received verbal abuse while answering emergency calls during last month’s flooding, a meeting heard. At the height of the floods, 356...