West Sussex firefighters appeal for unwanted cars
It's to help new recruits practice their skills
Anyone with an old, unwanted vehicle in West Sussex is being told it can be put to good use by the county's firefighters.
West Sussex Fire and Rescue relies on donations of used vehicles from members of the public for firefighters to use for training.
Recently six more retained (on-call) firefighters completed their road traffic collision training course and used donated cars for their training.
As part of the course, Adam Newton from Shoreham Fire Station, Oliver Lewis from Burgess Hill, Robert Austen based at Steyning, Will Middleton from Bognor Regis, and Warren Boyt and David Loor from Chichester had to demonstrate their skills in responding to a road traffic collision.
This involves the use of hydraulic cutting equipment carried on West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s appliances to allow firefighters to safely extract casualties who are trapped inside a vehicle.
Neil Mason, a Watch Manager in WSFRS’s Operational Training Team who oversaw the latest RTC course, said:
"Firstly I would like to congratulate each of our six newly qualified retained firefighters who completed this course.
"Each of these retained firefighters have full-time jobs elsewhere but chose to become retained firefighters to help support their communities in their own time. It is a big commitment, as is making the time to complete training courses like this.
“We used a number of scrap vehicles as part of this course to give the firefighters the chance to experience the aftermath of a road traffic collision so that they are armed with all of the vital skills and knowledge to respond effectively in a real life emergency situation.
“I would like to say a big thank you to each of the drivers who thought of the fire service when their vehicle had reached the end of its working life and donated it to us for training. It could well have saved someone’s life.”
A number of fire stations are in need of extra vehicles across West Sussex to ensure firefighters gain plenty of experience in rescuing casualties from inside vehicles.
Collection and removal of vehicles is managed by Mark Maynard of Autorecovery, who will travel to any address within West Sussex to collect the vehicles free of charge.
Anyone wishing to donate their car can call 0330 2228377, or email frsmedia@westsussex.gov.uk with the following details:
Name
Contact number
Make, model and registration of the vehicle
Whether the vehicle is taxed or SORNd
Full address, including a postcode, of where the vehicle is parked