Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service
Operational area
Country  England
County  Hampshire
Agency overview
Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin
Facilities and equipment
Stations 51
Website
Official website

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England. The service's chief fire officer is Neil Odin.[1][2]

History

The Service was formed on 4 April 1948 as a result of the Fire Services Act 1947.

Previously all local authorities were duty-bound to make provision for firefighting under the Fire Brigades Act 1938. Many meetings and discussions were held prior to the service's creation in 1948 by the Hampshire fire service committees, to discuss who would be appointed the role of chief fire officer and how the service would be structured.

With ongoing expansion, the service was under increasing pressure to open a service HQ. The FRS was originally hoping to use and acquire North Hill House in Winchester for usage as the headquarters — a building still desired by the Admiralty at the time and therefore the service was not allowed to buy it. In May 1948; the admiralty gave up the premises and allowed the service to operate it. However twenty years later in 1968, the service HQ moved to a floor of Ashburton Court, The Castle, Winchester as well as the control room.

In 1997, Hampshire County Council lost control of the FRS, transferring responsibility to the newly formed Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.[3]

HFRS are now headquarted in Eastleigh. Since late 2015, it has shared its headquarters with Hampshire Constabulary.[4]

Fire Stations/Appliances

Station Callsign Station Name Duty System Appliances
H01BasingstokeWholetime/Retained2x RP, 1x LRP, 1x RSV, 1x ALP, 1x SFV, 1x CSU
H02RushmoorWholetime/Retained1x RP, 1x LRP, 1x WrT, 1x L4T, 1x WV, 1x CSU, 1x FESS
H03BordonRetained1x WrT, 1x WrC, 1x H4T, 1x CRV
H04FleetRetained1x WrT, 1x WrC
H05AltonRetained1x RP, 1x WrT, 1x L4T, 1x EPU
H06WhitchurchRetained1x LRP
H07GrayshottRetained1x WrT
H08Hartley WintneyRetained1x WrL, 1x L4T, 1x CRV
H09KingsclereRetained1x WrL
H10OdihamRetained1x WrL
H11OvertonRetained1x WrT
H12TadleyRetained1x WrL
H13LiphookRetained1x WrL, 1x L4T, 1x CRV (shared with Grayshott)
H14YateleyRetained1x WrT
H16HavantWholetime/Retained1x RP, 1x WrL, 1x L4T
H17FarehamWholetime/Retained1x RP, 1x WrL, 1x WrC, 1x L4T, 1x WRU
H18GosportWholetime/Retained1x RP, 1x WrL, 1x WRU
H19WaterloovilleRetained1x WrL, 1x WrT,1x OSU
H21Hayling IslandRetained1x RP, 1x WrT
H22WickhamRetained1x WrL, 1x CRV
H23CoshamWholetime1x RP, 1x WrL, 1x RSV 1X SEU
H24SouthseaWholetime1x RP, 1x LRP, 1x WrT, 1x ALP, 1x SFV
H25HorndeanRetained1x WrT, 1x CRV (shared with Waterlooville)
H26EmsworthRetained1x WrT, 1x CRV
H28PortchesterRetained1x WrT, 1x CSU, 1x CRV
H29PetersfieldRetained1x RP, 1x WrL, 1x CRV
H30WinchesterWholetime/Retained1x RP, 1x WrT, 1x DIM, 1x ARU
H31AndoverWholetime/Retained1x RP, 1x WrL, 1x WrC, 1x L4P, 1x CRV
H32EastleighWholetime/Retained1x RP, 1x WrT, 1x WrC, 1x L4P, 1x CSU, 2x FRU
H33RomseyRetained1x WrL, 1x WrT, 1x EPU, 1x CRV
H34StockbridgeRetained1x WrL, 1x L4T, 1x CRV
H35Sutton ScotneyRetained1x WrT
H36AlresfordRetained1x WrL, 1x L4T, 1x CRV
H38BotleyRetained1x WrT, 1x CRV
H40Bishops WalthamRetained1x WrL
H41DroxfordRetained1x WrT
H42HQRetained1x WrL (only available during HQ working hours), 1x ICU, 1x CSU, 1x FESS
H43LymingtonRetained1x RP, 1x WrL, 1x CRV
H44HytheRetained1x WrL, 1x L4T, 1x CRV (shared with Beaulieu and Hardley)
H45RingwoodRetained1x RP, 1x WrC, 1x L4P, 1x CRV
H46TottonRetained1x WrT
H47FordingbridgeRetained/On Call1x RP, 1x L4P
H48LyndhurstRetained1x RP, 1x WV, 1x ARU,1x WrC
H49BeaulieuRetained1x WrT, 1x CSU
H50BrockenhurstRetained1x WrT, 1x CRV
H51New MiltonRetained1x WrL, 1x WrT, 1x CRV
H52BurleyRetained1x WrL, 1x L4T
H53RedbridgeWholetime1x RP, 1x RSV
H54St Mary'sWholetime1x RP, 1x LRP, 1x ALP, 1x SFV
H55HambleRetained1x WrT, 1x L4P, 1x CRV
H56HightownWholetime1x RP, 1x WrT, 1x PM+MDU
H58HardleyRetained1x RP, 1x L4P, 1x PM+HVP, 1x PM+HVHL
H59Eastleigh (Urban Search and Rescue)Wholetime/Retained1x SRU, 1x SDU, 1x OSU, 5x PM for 5x USAR Pods

Fire Appliance Glossary/Callsigns

  • Water Tender Ladder (WrL): P1
  • Water Tender (WrT): P4
  • First Response Vehicle (FRV): P5
  • Light Rescue Pump (LRP): P6
  • Rescue Pump (RP): P7/P8
  • Small Fires Vehicle (SFV): L1
  • Water Carrier (WrC): W1
  • Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP): A1
  • Incident Command Unit (ICU): C1
  • Command Support Unit (CSU): C2 (HQ)/C3
  • Environmental Protection Unit (EPU): H1
  • Light 4x4 Pump (L4P): M1
  • Light 4x4 Tender (L4T): M2
  • Heavy 4x4 Tender (H4T): M3
  • Wildfire Vehicle (WV): M4
  • Response Support Vehicle (RSV): R1
  • Water Rescue Unit (WRU): R2
  • Animal Rescue Unit (ARU): R3
  • Fire & Emergency Support Service unit (FESS): S5
  • Prime Mover + High Volume Pump (PM+HVP): T1
  • Prime Mover + High Volume Hose Layer (PM+HVHL): T2
  • Prime Mover + Foam Response Unit (PM+FRU): F1+F2
  • Co-Responder Vehicle (CRV): V1
  • Special Equipment UNIT (SEU) V2
  • Maritime Incident Support Unit (MISU) V1

CBRN Response:

  • Detection, Identification & Monitoring (DIM): H8
  • Prime Mover + Mass Decontamination Unit (PM+MDU): H9

Urban Search & Rescue (USAR):

  • Search & Rescue Unit (SRU): R4
  • Search & Rescue Dog Unit (SDU): R9
  • Operational Support Unit (OSU): T1
  • Prime Mover (PM): T2/T3/T4/T5/T6

Pods:

  • Module 1 - Technical Search Equipment
  • Module 2 - Heavy Transport, Confined Space & Hot Cutting
  • Module 3 - Breaching & Breaking Equipment
  • Module 4 - Multi Purpose Vehicle
  • Module 5 - Shoring Operations

Co-Responder and Immediate Emergency Care

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service works in partnership with the South Central Ambulance Service to provide emergency medical cover to select areas of Hampshire. Currently, 21 areas have been identified as having a greater need for ambulance cover. Annually, the service attends over 13,000 medical emergencies supporting the ambulance service. The aim of a co-responder is to preserve life until the arrival of either a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) or an ambulance. Co-Responder Vehicles are single manned by a specially trained firefighter, who will take the vehicle to his or her workplace/home and will respond from there when alerted to an incident via pager. Each vehicle is equipped with:

  • Defibrillator
  • Bag and mask resuscitator
  • Oxygen
  • Airways
  • Suction units
  • Standard first aid equipment
  • Entonox (analgesic gas)

In addition to co-responding, the service has also rolled out the Immediate Emergency Care (IEC) program which has resulted in all front line fire appliances being equipped with more advanced medical equipment. This includes a defibrillator, Entonox and patient monitoring equipment. As of October 2016, all appliances and front line crews had received the IEC training and equipment.

Future - Risk Review

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is facing a potential £16m gap in Government funding by 2020. In order to face this dramatic cut in funding, a comprehensive risk review of the service has been undertaken to find more efficient and cost effective ways to provide fire and rescue services to the people of Hampshire.[5] Following a public consultation in Autumn 2015, the final proposals confirmed that none of the 51 fire stations in Hampshire will close and there will be no compulsory redundancies. However, all fire stations will have a drop in the number of operational firefighters and a number of fire stations will have different crewing systems to match the community risk profile of each station area.[6]

The second major change affects response vehicles; the current system has at least one standard fire appliance (with approximately similar equipment fits) at each fire station, irrespective of the typical incidents and equipment used at incidents on each station ground. The Risk Review aims to match vehicle capability and disposition to the prevailing local risk by introducing three different types of response capability based on risk parameters.[7] Each fire station will hence have vehicles deemed appropriate for the incidents they are likely to face. The three response capabilities are:

  • First Response Capability

This will be a much smaller vehicle than a traditional fire engine whilst retaining significant capability. They will be able to get to incidents quicker due to their small size and will be suitably equipped to deal with the majority of incidents types in the local area unsupported. Some will have 4 wheel drive to improve access to rural incidents. They will be fitted with the latest technology, including a Ultra High Pressure Lance (UHPL), to allow firefighters to attack fires with greater safety. It will also carry RTC cutting gear, enhanced medical equipment and breathing apparatus, along with a selection of other fire and rescue equipment. Most crucially, it can be mobilised with a crew of between two and four depending on the type of incident. This means that retained stations with a reduced number of available firefighters can still respond to certain low-risk incidents with a smaller crew. The two trial vehicles are based at Rushmoor (4x4) and Southsea (4x2).

  • Intermediate Capability

This will be slightly smaller than a traditional fire engine, making it more agile and faster in rural areas and compact city streets. They will carry the same equipment as the First Response Vehicles along with a greater water carrying capacity, larger ladders and additional rescue equipment, as well as the UHPL. They will have the same medical equipment as the other vehicle types in order to provide vital emergency medical care in the community. Again, the number of firefighters on board (between two and five) will depend upon the severity of the incident and other resources will be sent to support them if necessary. The first five trial vehicles are based at Southsea, St Mary's, Basingstoke, Rushmoor and Whitchurch.

  • Enhanced Capability

This will be very similar to the current Rescue Pump with a crew of between four and six. They will have a full range of heavy rescue equipment, a large pump and water carrying capacity as well as a specialist foam capability suitable for all types of fires.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chief Fire officer of FRS
  2. ↑ Statutory FRS/area covered
  3. ↑ History of the service (creation/major changes)
  4. ↑ http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incidents-news-and-events/news/2015/police-begin-groundbreaking-move-to-fire-headquarters/
  5. ↑ http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/about-us/a-safer-hampshire/the-challenge/
  6. ↑ http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=8716
  7. ↑ http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=8716

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.