Northwest fire and rescue services join forces for high-rise training

FIRE crews and officers from the Northwest of England joined forces to complete a series of high-rise building exercises.

A disused high-rise block of flats in Broad Lane (Kirby, Merseyside) was used on Monday, March 14, 2022, by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and neighbouring fire and rescue services allowing them to put their policies into practice and ensure procedures are aligned.

The day consisted of four exercises running between 10am and 4pm at the 11-storey block, allowing firefighters to work closely with colleagues from across the region.

Live casualties were involved in the training to add realism, and simulated emergency calls to report the mock incidents.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Leon Parkes said: “Following the Grenfell Tower fire almost five years ago, and in line with recommendations made from phase one of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, fire and rescue services across the Northwest of England broadened the scope of their collaborative work to improve our equipment, procedures, and training to support a response to a high-rise incident.

“All training we carry out is key to ensure that as a fire and rescue service we are fully prepared to respond to any type of emergency, and to ensure our training exercises are realistic for our operational crews and officers they often include injects with volunteers playing live casualties.

“I want to thank our colleagues in Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and others involved in the recent exercise in Kirby that enabled North West Services to come together and gain a greater understanding of how we each respond to high rise incidents. In Greater Manchester we often run large-scale exercises involving our partners to train for high-rise fires and other operational incidents at our Training and Safety Centre in Bury, where we are having a new Incident Command and Leadership Development Academy made which will provide further opportunities for joint training.”

To find out about Greater Manchester’s High Rise and Building Safety Taskforce visit: https://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/your-safety/high-rise-and-building-safety-taskforce/

25/03/2022 14:34 PM