FIRE engines have been installed with hi-tech gizmos to help crews deal with emergencies.

All of Cambridgeshire’s 63 frontline vehicles now have Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) with maps, blueprints of buildings, details of nearby chemical risks and records of safety features on cars.

It will allow fire fighters to map the scene of a disaster before they arrive and means they don’t have to rely on memory or fumble through paper records.

Assistant chief fire officer Neil Newberry said it would “almost certainly save lives”.

He added: “Fire fighters will have all kinds of vital information literally at their fingertips.

“In just a couple of seconds they can bring up blueprints to show the easiest access to a fire at buildings such as Peckover House in Wisbech and the precise location of safety features in nearly all makes and models of cars.”