Avon Fire and Rescue Service

Avon Fire and Rescue Service

Operational area
Country	England, UK
Unitary Authorities	Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire
Address	Police & Fire Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road, Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8JJ
Agency overview
Established	1 April 1974 (1974-04-01)
Employees	~900
Annual budget	£42 million (2017–2018)[1]
Chief Fire Officer	Mick Crennell
Facilities and equipment
Stations	22
Engines	67
Rescue boats	3
Website
www.avonfire.gov.uk

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is the fire and rescue service covering the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire in South West England.

The headquarters for the service is located in Bristol city centre, with 22 fire stations across the area.

History

Avon Fire Brigade was created in 1974, when Avon county was created. In 1996, the county was abolished and four separate unitary authorities were created. Administration of the service was taken over by a joint fire authority made up of councillors from the four unitary authorities. In 2004, the Fire and Rescue Services Act was passed. To better reflect the changing roles and responsibilities of the fire service, Avon Fire Brigade changed its name to Avon Fire & Rescue Service.^[2]

Fleur Lombard QGM (1974 – 4 February 1996^[3]) was the first female firefighter to die on duty in peacetime Britain, while Avon Fire and Rescue Service were fighting a supermarket fire in Staple Hill.^[4][5] The Fleur Lombard Bursary Fund provides travel grants so that a junior UK firefighter may visit the fire service of another country.^[6]

In September 2017 the service's headquarters was moved from Temple Back, Bristol to the Avon and Somerset Constabulary's headquarters in Portishead. Following the move an unexpected number of support staff left the service, resulting in recruitment delays in finding replacement staff.^[7][8]

Community Safety

The role of a modern fire and rescue service has increased from fighting fires to cover the core functions of 'Protecting, Preventing and Responding'. Avon Fire & Rescue Service now has a wider remit promoting community safety through events and education work, alongside attending a range of incidents and emergencies from road traffic collisions and fires, to flooding and chemical spills. The fire service aims to cut the risk of fire developing in the first place by promoting safety messages to local residents and encouraging people to have working smoke alarms.^[16]

Avon Fire & Rescue Service runs community safety campaigns. The summer 2009 campaign, 'Be BBQ Safe', included a hard hitting interview with a BBQ fire burns victim who spent the previous summer in intensive care after using nitro to light his BBQ.

The Car Clear scheme was launched in 2001, with the intention of promptly removing abandoned vehicles from streets. This eliminates the possibility of arson attacks.^[17][18]

Operations

Fire engine outside Temple fire station

Rescue vehicle outside Temple fire station

In meeting their Mission, Vision and Values Avon Fire & Rescue Service utilizes a large cadre of emergency equipment. These include 81 appliances, 51 pumping appliances, four turntable ladders and 16 special appliances. Adding to the available emergency response can also be their boats, pods, fork lift trucks, a Control Emergency Evacuation Vehicle and a telescopic handler. In 2009 & 2011 Avon Fire & Rescue added two - Polybilt bodied Combined Aerial Rescue Platforms (CARP).^[19] The first began service at Patchway fire station and was subsequently moved to Speedwell fire station. The second was assigned to Bedminster fire station.^[20] However both of these appliances have been withdrawn from service by July 2016 and the bodywork has been removed from the chassis to allow for the chassis to be used for new specialist appliances.

Also in 2009 to better serve the public Yate Fire Station was upgraded to “whole-time/retained status”. Firefighters would now be ready to respond from the fire station 24/7. This was a preparedness upgrade from the previously “day-crewed” status of 0800 – 1700 hours daily and firefighters responding from their homes and work places.^[21]

As part of the “Investing for the Future” programme, which began in 2014, Kingswood Fire Station was closed for refurbishment.^[22] The Kingswood Fire Station project was completed and subsequently Speedwell Fire Station closed permanently all in 2015. The Chair of Avon Fire Authority assured the public that response standards will remain unchanged. Along with Speedwell Fire Station Keynsham Fire Station was also closed November 1, 2015. According to the Chairman of Avon Fire Authority, Councillor Peter Abraham "The regeneration of Keynsham town centre meant we needed to move the existing Keynsham Fire Station. This has provided us with an opportunity to amalgamate the part-time station at Keynsham and Brislington fire station, which will both close, into a new Wholetime fire station at Hicks Gate."^[23]

Fire Stations and Appliances

Fire Appliance Glossary

• RP - Rescue Pump
• WrL - Water Tender Ladder
• RT - Rescue Tender
• TTL - Turntable Ladder
• FoT - Foam Tender
• ERU - Environmental Response Unit
• MWU - Major Welfare Unit
• RRU - Road/Rail Unit (for rail tunnel incidents)
• WrC - Water Carrier (7,000 litres)
• LiRU - Line Rescue Unit
• BAT - Breathing Apparatus Tender
• K9U - Fire Investigation Dog Unit
• CU - Command Unit
• CSU - Command Support Unit
• SW/AR - Swift Water/Animal Rescue
• L4V - Light four-wheel-drive Vehicle
• CU/SA - countermeasure unit/ swift action
• PM - Prime Mover
• USAR - Urban Search & Rescue
• IRU - Incident Response Unit (mass decontamination vehicle)
• DIM - Detection Identification Monitoring (mobile chemical/bio-hazard laboratory)

See also

• Fire service in the United Kingdom

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avon Fire and Rescue Service.

• Official website