Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service

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Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service
Operational area
Country  England
County  Warwickshire
Agency overview
Employees 550
Facilities and equipment
Stations 16
Website
Official website

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service serving the county of Warwickshire in the West Midlands region of England.

The service covers an area of 1,975.33 km² and a population of around 546,600 people. It employs 550 staff and has 16 fire stations with 32 fire engines.

The service is administered by Warwickshire County Council. Its headquarters are based in Leamington Spa.

A new interim Chief Fire Officer Andy Hickmott was appointed in May 2013 following Graeme Smith's retirement. He was in the fire service for 30 years and joined Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2009.

History

The service was created in 1948[1] by the Fire Services Act 1947 and was originally called Warwick County Fire Brigade.

It did not cover the cities of Coventry or Birmingham, which had their own fire brigades. In 1974 the service lost area to the newly created West Midlands Fire Service.

2007 warehouse fire

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Main article: 2007 Warwickshire warehouse fire

On 2 November 2007, crews were mobilised to a major fire at a vegetable packing plant operated by Wealmoor Ltd on an industrial estate in the village of Atherstone on Stour. Up to 100 firefighters and five ambulance crews were called to the scene and 16 fire engines were used to tackle the blaze. Part of the structure collapsed under the intensity of the fire.[2]

Four firefighters of the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service were killed: Ian Reid, who died in hospital, and Ashley Stephens, Darren Yates-Badley, and John Averis whose bodies were recovered from the debris.[3]

In February 2011, it was announced that two Watch Managers and one Station Manager, who were all at one time in command of the incident, were to face charges of manslaughter by gross negligence over the deaths of the men. They were acquitted in May 2012.[4] Warwickshire County Council was charged with failing to ensure safety at work[5] and pleaded guilty at a hearing in Wolverhampton in January 2012.[6] It was fined £30,000 in December 2012.[7]

Fire Stations/Appliances

Station Callsign Station Name Duty System Appliances
S20 Nuneaton Wholetime 1x WrL, 1x ARP, 1x L4V
S21 Bedworth Day Crewed 2x WrL, 1x SFU
S22 Coleshill Day Crewed/Cross Crewed* 2x WrL, 1x L4V, 2x PM* for: RTCU, BFU, WrC, GPU
S23 Polesworth Retained/Cross Crewed* 1x WrL
S24 Atherstone Day Crewed/Cross Crewed* 2x WrL, 1x ICCU*, 1x L4V
S26 Rugby Wholetime 2x WrL, 1x WRU, 1x L4V+IrbT
S27 Kenilworth Retained 1x WrL, 1x FESU
S29 Leamington Spa Wholetime/Cross Crewed* 1x WrL, 1x ARP, 1x L4V, 1x PM* for: BASU, WrC
S30 Southam Retained 1x WrL
S31 Fenny Compton Retained 1x WrL
S34 Shipston-On-Stour Retained 1x WrL
S35 Stratford-Upon-Avon Wholetime 2x WrL, 1x SFU, 1x L4V
S36 Bidford-On-Avon Retained 1x WrL
S37 Alcester Wholetime/Cross Crewed* 1x WrL, 1x L4V, 1x PM+EPU*
S39 Henley-In-Arden Retained 1x WrL
S40 Wellsbourne Retained 1x WrL

Fire Appliance Glossary/Callsigns

  • Water Ladder (WrL): P1/P2
  • Aerial Rescue Pump (ARP): A6
  • Small Fires Unit (SFU): L1
  • Light 4x4 Vehicle (L4V): M8
  • Light 4x4 Vehicle + Inshore Rescue Boat (L4V+IrbT): M8
  • Water Rescue Unit (WRU): T1
  • Incident Command & Control Unit (ICCU): C1
  • Fire & Emergency Support Unit (FESU): T9
  • Prime Mover (PM): T1/T2

Pods:

  • Breathing Apparatus Support Unit (BASU)
  • Bulk Foam Unit (BFU)
  • Environmental Protection Unit (EPU)
  • General Purpose Unit (GPU)
  • Road Traffic Collision Unit (RTCU)
  • Water Carrier (WrC)


CBRN Response:

  • Incident Response Unit (IRU): H9

See also

References

  1. ↑ Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service Press Release - 50 Years Of The County Fire Service Warwickshire - 24 November 1998
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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