Improving training facilities for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
Since becoming Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst has secured just over £1million to improve training facilities over the next 12 months within Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
So far, part of this investment has seen the installation of an internal wall at Orsett Training Centre to enable the training team to double its training capacity.
Find out more in this film featuring Roger and Steve Hart, Breathing Apparatus Training Manager at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex:
“When I first became Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, I spent a lot of time visiting stations and talking to you.
“It was clear then that we needed to invest more in training and that in particular included better BA training, Breathing Apparatus training facilities.
“The fact this is now happening is really encouraging and I’d like to thank the team who put together the plan and who are delivering this for the Service.
“Firefighters and management have been able to set out a clear plan for investment and together we’re making that happen.
“It’s cost just over a million pounds to make the improvements but it is money absolutely well spent.
“As PFCC, I’m committed to making long term investment in training and in development and enabling you, our firefighters to be the best that you can be.”
Steve Hart, Breathing Apparatus Training Manager:
“Hello, my name is Steve Hart, I’m the BA Training Manager for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and I’m here today to just talk about some of the benefits that the PFCC has meant for us as a department regarding the additional funding into some of the improvement works for the BA chambers across Essex.
“Today, I’m at Orsett Training Centre and one of the key benefits for us is the creation of an internal wall which now provides Orsett as a venue similar opportunities to develop its staff as Wethersfield Training Centre.
“The recent improvements to the facility as enabled us to double the capacity of the training that we deliver here at Orsett Training Centre. That’s double the live fire ability, double the opportunity for operational crews to participate and improve in obviously this risk critical element of training.
“It may seem like just a simple wall but this gives us the opportunity to develop the skills regarding how to enter through compartments that are on fire, through doorways that lead on to compartments and to then create slightly more complex but realistic training scenarios which obviously then improve the standards of our operational crews across the county.
“We’ve recently undertaken some training and some assessment of some police gas site suit instructors, checking that what they’ve been taught is correct and is in line with our procedures.
“Also Essex Police can book the facility for assisting in the training of their police dogs to undertake search and rescue operations within inside the BA chamber.”
