Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service undertake training exercise involving simulated flat fire

The exercise entailed a simulated report of a flat fire on the second floor of the block of flats. The block of flats is three storeys with six flats inside (two per level).

The exercise utilised the following equipment: three fire engines per training scenario, Breathing Apparatus (BA), hoses, and hydrants.

The block of flats that was used for the training exercise was kindly offered to us for this use by Bromford Housing Association.

The aim of the exercise was to train in real life circumstances to better develop our teams and to test our joint rescue and BA procedures with DWFRS.

Although we hope we’ll never be called to such an incident, we train regularly and extensively to ensure that we are fully prepared and can respond effectively and appropriately when we are needed.

Mark Preece, Chief Fire Officer at Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Although we hope that we will never be called to such an incident, taking part in training exercises that are as true to real life circumstances as possible, helps us to ensure that we are fully prepared and can respond effectively and appropriately when we are needed.

This particular training exercise has provided an opportunity for us to test and further develop our skills in responding to a simulated fire in a 3-storey block of flats, whilst working collaboratively with our partners from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service”.

Cllr Dave Norman, cabinet member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service, said: “At Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, our crews train extensively to ensure that they can deliver the highest level of emergency response services to our communities.

This training exercise is another fantastic example of the hard work, skills, and dedication of our staff across Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service”.