Fire service carries out important training exercise in North Herefordshire
It’s been called an 'invaluable opportunity' for the service as they work with teams from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue
Residents in North Herefordshire are reminded to not be alarmed as a major training exercise takes place today with the fire service.
Crews from across the region are heading to Brampton Bryan Hall this morning to test their fire and rescue procedures.
They’re also being joined by students from Hereford and Ludlow College - in a bid to give them an insight into the pressures crews face during an incident.
Up to seven fire appliances will be used for the training, deploying from fire stations right across the area including Leintwardine, Kingsland, Ewyas Harold, Kington and Fownhope, plus the Service welfare vehicle from Tenbury Wells, with cross border support from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
Community volunteers will also be taking part to act as members of the public, helping to provide the firefighters with a more realistic scenario for them to deal with.
Watch Commander Marc Mercer, from HWFRS’s West District, the exercise controller, said: “This will be an invaluable opportunity to test out and improve our fire and rescue procedures when working with colleagues from other Fire and Rescue Services.
“HWFRS are grateful of the support of the landowner and estate team for the use of the property and being so engaging with the planning.
“We have a number of Hereford and Ludlow college students that are aspiring to join the public service that will be interacting with us on the day, be it as casualties or following our commanders to have an insight of the pressures and decision making involved during a incident.
“Careful planning means that our emergency fire and rescue response capabilities will remain at normal levels throughout the day for the safety of the area and elsewhere in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and we have notified local residents of the exercise.
“We’ve received total support from the local community to date and I’d like to thank them for their patience while we undertake this vital training.”
The exercise is planned to take place between approximately 10:30am - 1 pm.