Activity Report A4 - Fire Authority

Transcription

CHIEFOFFICERS
ACtIvIty REPORt
July 1 – September 30 2011
Welcome / CFO Introduction
Welcome to the ‘Chief’s Activity
Report’ which reflects the work of
Greater Manchester Fire and
Rescue Service between July and
September 2011.
This report is designed to be a
helpful guide, providing
information about a wide range of
activity undertaken by our staff
and partners across the county,
with details from each of our 10
borough areas and our ground
breaking work with children and
young people.
Among items of particular note
during this time period, you will
find details of our response to the
widely reported and shocking civil
disturbances in Manchester and
Salford in August, when we
clearly experienced a high-volume
of serious incidents which
involved about half our duty crew.
From a personal perspective, I
was in the operational control
room that night and can only
report back how proud I was of
everyone involved.
Steve McGuirk
CBE, QFSM, DL, MA, BA (Hons), BSc, FRSA, FIFireE
Chief Executive/
County Fire Officer
Also covered in this report are a
number of prosecutions relating to
breaches of Fire Safety
Regulations. This sends out a
clear message that the Service
will take action against those that
put lives at risk through neglecting
their responsibilities.
And lastly, we welcomed a new
Chairman to the helm of the Fire
Authority. Cllr David Acton, who
represents Trafford Council, has
been a member here since 2008.
David is a very experienced
politician, having led Trafford
Council for a number of years. I
am looking forward to working
with him and the team.
facebook.com/
manchesterfire
@manchesterfire
2
G R E AT E R M A N C H E S T E R F I R E A N D R E S C U E S E R V I C E A C T I V I T y R E P O R T 2 0 1 1
Contents
4
Operational Incidents
5
9
11
44
Strategic Projects and
Specialist Response
45
Prevention and Protection
49
Events and Campaigns
53
Training and Development
55
Volunteers
56
Children and Young People
58
Other Articles of Interest
Service Delivery
Bolton
11
Bury
14
Manchester
17
Oldham
21
Rochdale
24
Salford
28
Stockport
32
Tameside
35
Trafford
38
Wigan
41
A C T I V I T y R E P O R T 2 0 1 1 G R E AT E R M A N C H E S T E R F I R E A N D R E S C U E S E R V I C E
3
Operational Incidents of Interest
SUNNY TOP COTTAGE GOES
UP IN FLAMES
RESIDENTS and animals living in
rural cottages in Bury were
rescued after an arson attack left
a mid-terraced property ablaze.
Despite the rural location of the
fire, crew from Bury arrived
quickly and whilst all the residents
had fled their homes to safety,
three cats were rescued and
treated for the effects of smoke.
Firefighters said it was almost
certain that smoke alarms fitted in
the properties had saved the
residents lives, given the speed
and intensity of the fire.
Crews from Bolton North, Bolton
Central, Bury and Ramsbottom
Fire Stations attended the incident
and firefighters remained at the
scene for several hours.
A 55-year-old man was
subsequently charged with the
attack.
Ambulance staff treated a man in
the back of an ambulance, while a
woman was being cared for on
the pavement. Two women and a
seven-year-old child were
recovered from inside the vehicle
but had already lost their lives.
Firefighters were later praised for
their professionalism in
challenging and distressing
circumstances. Excellent interagency working between the Fire
and Rescue Service, Police,
NWAS HART Team and air
ambulance was also noted. All
firefighters involved undertook full
critical incident debriefing after the
incident.
PEEL GREEN LIGHT
AIRCRAFT CRASH
CREW raced to the scene of an
overturned car involving a family
of six in Chadderton, but three
people sadly died.
TWO men received serious
injuries when a light aircraft
crashed into a house in Newlands
Avenue, Peel Green. Fire crews
worked hard with firefighters from
City Airport to release the
casualties from the plane before
they were taken to hospital by airambulance.
Firefighters quickly stabilised the
vehicle and used hydraulic rescue
equipment to get inside. A
woman trapped was rescued and
taken to hospital by air
ambulance. The collision in
Local residents and passers by,
including two police officers, saw
the plane descend and raced to
the scene, where two men aged
57 and 19 suffered impact and
burn injuries. They were taken to
FATAL COLLISION - THREE
LIVES LOST
4
Gateway Crescent, in August,
proved difficult for the emergency
services to deal with as the family
spoke little English.
PEELGREENLIGHtAIRCRAFtCRASH
Wythenshawe Hospital but sadly
the older of the two men died the
following day.
The first fire crew on the scene
were from City Airport (Barton) –
who quickly laid a foam blanket.
They were joined by firefighters
from a number of stations,
including Eccles, Ashton,
Stretford, Agecroft and Atherton.
Our Urban Search and Rescue
team also attended the incident –
as the semi-detached house that
the plane hit was heavily
damaged. They carried out an
initial assessment of the structural
damage to the buildings and
constructed a temporary cover for
the plane wreckage, to maintain
the scene until the air accident
investigation team could attend.
The man in the property at the
time of the crash wasn’t injured.
At the height of the incident six
fire engines were in attendance,
which was scaled down to two
later in the afternoon.
Civil Unrest
FIREFIGHTERS ON THE
FRONTLINE
THE civil disorder in Salford and
Manchester in August led to a
significant increase in calls in the
control room.
Subsequently, three additional
pumps were brought into duty,
extra staff mobilised for the night
shift, six additional flexible duty
officers brought in to provide extra
support and the Operational
Support Room ‘stood-up’ from
2pm to 1.30am the following day.
Throughout that time the Service
dealt with a total of 438 calls.
These included an arson attack at
Miss Selfridge, Manchester city
centre, and the Lidl supermarket
In Fitzwilliam Street, Salford.
Crew also attended overturned
cars that had been set on fire,
ransacked and looted buildings as
well as routine car crashes and
incidents. In just the first couple of
hours the Service took over 200
calls. Seven vehicles were
damaged as a result of the
attacks.
Sadly, firefighters faced a hostile
reaction in some areas, coming
under attack from bricks, stones
and other missiles thrown by
youths. Fortunately no operational
staff suffered physical injury as a
result of these attacks.
County Fire Officer and Chief
Executive Steve McGuirk said:
“The people in our Control were
fantastic, dealing with huge
numbers of calls as well as
mobilising and supporting the
many incidents we attended.
“All the people supporting the
operational activity were equally
outstanding and we had
numerous offers across the whole
organisation to help.
“The crews on the ground –
particularly the crews facing the
violence in Salford and
Manchester – showed incredible
professionalism and courage in
the face of the most horrendous
violence and intimidation.”
CFO McGuirk added: “We had a
very large number of incidents
until the early hours of the
morning which involved the
deployment of about half our
appliances, many from the
holding areas/ marshalling points
we established in the vicinity of
the 'hot spots'.
incident they were facing. So, we
did attend incidents where we
believed there was a life risk or a
serious property risk on our own –
trusting the judgement of our front
line officers.
“In amongst this, we also had two
serious incidents requiring ten
appliances and not connected to
the civil disorder.
“The staff in our fire control coped
extremely well and maintained a
calm air of professionalism
throughout. And all the officers
supporting the co-ordination of
resources managed in an equally
professional and resourceful
manner. This really was a team
effort.”
“Having been there most of the
night I can attest to the excellence
and commitment from everyone
involved, under extremely difficult
circumstances.
“We worked very closely with
police colleagues to ensure the
safety of our personnel and in
determining what to mobilise to
and what not to but – on
occasions – police colleagues
were unable to provide a large
contingent of officers to support a
response at the level needed, due
to the sheer scale and volume of
FIREFIGHtERStACKLINGARSONAttACKSIN
MANCHEStER
5
Civil Unrest
THE CLEAN-UP BEGINS
FOLLOWING the disturbances,
Manchester Borough
Management Team set out to
support local businesses affected
by the disorder.
Operational crews from around
the Borough visited over 250
premises directly affected by
looting and, in some areas,
serious arson attacks.
They were strongly supported by
Fire Safety Enforcement Officers,
Community Fire Safety staff,
volunteers from the Community
Action Team (CAT) and Greater
Manchester Police.
Station Manager Jon Crawley
said: “GMFRS hit the streets of
Manchester city centre in the
morning and continued with the
initiative for five days.
were carefully planned with those
businesses directly affected given
priority visits. With the potential of
further civil disturbances, arson
prevention and basic fire risk
assessment advice was given by
GMFRS staff.”
Boosting the GMFRS presence
was the sight of CAT volunteers
and cadets who spent days out
on the streets, carrying out
community reassurance work with
traders and shop keepers in
Manchester and Salford.
“There was a visual GMFRS
presence in the city centre
throughout the day and into the
early evening. Reassurance visits
6
THANKS ALL ROUND…
IN addition to receiving
recognition from many media
outlets, GMFRS’ role during and
after the disturbances attracted
praise from partners and VIPs
including Greater Manchester
Police (GMP), and notably the
Prime Minister David Cameron
and HRH Prince Harry.
Liz Baxter, CAT deputy manager,
said: “I was in the city centre
myself following the trouble and
the support from shop keepers
and members of the public was
tangible. People really wanted to
see a GMFRS presence on the
street and thanked us profusely
for coming to see them.”
Jon added: “The feedback given
to operational crews was
excellent. The time and effort put
into this initiative was much
appreciated by all of the local
businesses visited. By carrying
out this form of community
engagement public confidence
grew, as did the message that it
was ‘business as usual’.”
AHUGECLEAN-UPBEGANWItHINHOURS
OFtHEDISORDER
and aiming to unify youth groups
– as part of the clean up
operations in Manchester and
Salford city centres.“
Tony Holt, Group Manager
Prevention, said: “It was
wonderful to see the GMFRS
cadets and our CAT volunteers
join with others as part of the
‘youth United’ organisation –
created by the Lord Lieutenant
PMDAvIDCAMERONtHANKEDGMFRS
Mr Cameron visited Salford Fire
Station where he praised the
'incredible bravery' of those
involved in combatting the
violence. He made the special
visit to the station to thank
representatives from the
emergency services for their
efforts and commended them for
the excellent work they did in
helping to protect and support the
communities of Salford and
Manchester.
During the visit, the Prime Minister
was joined by Chief Fire Officer
Steve McGuirk, Chief Constable
Peter Fahy and Hazel Blears MP
and fire crews were able to give a
first-hand account of what it was
like to be on the front line.
Mr McGuirk said: “It was a real
honour to meet Mr Cameron, as
well as an opportunity for fire
crews and our police colleagues
to share, first-hand, what is was
like to be in the thick of the
disturbances.
“We must not however forget
those working behind the scenes
– during the disturbances on
Tuesday evening, our Control
Centre received hundreds of calls.
Everyone worked throughout the
night showing nothing but
commitment, dedication and
professionalism in what was an
extremely difficult and challenging
situation.”
Five days after Mr Cameron’s visit,
Salford Fire Station played host to
a visit from HRH Prince Harry,
who came to see the people
caught up in the disorder and
meet fire crews to talk about their
experience on the night of the
riots. He also met with CAT
members, Fire Cadets from
Eccles, as well as members of the
Prince's Trust, who were all
involved with the clean-up
operation in the aftermath.
Prince Harry took the opportunity
to thank everyone for their efforts
and commended them for the
excellent work they did in helping
to protect and support the
communities of Salford and
Manchester.
Assistant County Fire Officer Paul
Argyle said: "It was a real honour
to meet HRH Prince Harry."
the disturbances, which was not
related to the affected areas, and
was given a demonstration of the
computer aided mobilising to help
him understand how the team
operates.
The day before the Prince’s visit,
GMFRS Control staff also
received a special visit from the
Lord Lieutenant of Greater
Manchester, Warren Smith, who
wanted to thank those on duty on
the evening of the unrest.
This was the Lord Lieutenant’s
first trip to a fire service Control
Room and he showed real
interest in how it worked. He
chatted to staff about the
situations they dealt with on the
night of the riots and also to
individuals who took the fire calls.
Joined by Deputy Chief Fire
Officer, Jim Owen, Warren was
given a guided tour around
Control – including the main office
and the Operations and Training
Rooms.
The group was asked many
questions by the Lord-Lieutenant
about procedures during civil
disturbance, the function of the
Operations Room and the general
activities carried out to support
our colleagues, as well as other
services and authorities.
PRINCEHARRyHEARSABOUtGMFRS’EXPERIENCES
Before leaving, Warren thanked
the staff for their efforts, on behalf
of the Queen, and said he would
be sending a report direct to her.
Meanwhile, messages of support
flooded in via our Twitter and
Facebook pages. Our partners at
GMP placed a full page advert in
the Manchester Evening News
thanking the public and also
paying tribute to ‘our Fire and
Rescue Service who did such a
brilliant job.’
Warren listened to an emergency
call from the night in the midst of
7
Civil Unrest
A CITY UNITED
FOLLOWING the disturbances,
organisations joined together to
promote a more positive view of
the city through the I Love Mcr
campaign.
against the anti-social behaviour
that took place.
A crew from Manchester Central
Fire Station attended the
campaign’s I Love Mcr day to talk
to people about the work carried
out during the disorder.
Crew Manager Keiran Gillam said:
“We spent the afternoon talking to
adults and children, showing
them around a fire engine and
telling them about what we faced
on the evening. All seemed very
interested and, in some cases,
shocked at some of the things
that we had to confront.”
tHE‘ILOvEMCR’CAMPAIGNISLAUNCHED
The campaign aims to show the
world that people of Manchester
are proud of their city and united
8
Firefighters Paul Pritchard, Philip
yarwood and Stuart Crabtree also
offered safety advice and Home
Fire Risk Assessments.
interview with BBC Radio
Manchester where they told
listeners about the night of the
disorder and how Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue
Service reacted.
“We explained the different
scenarios we faced on the night,”
said Firefighter Pritchard. “Again,
there seemed genuine surprise at
the nature of some of the
incidents we dealt with.”
Speaking about the I Love Mcr
day, Firefighter Crabtree added: “It
was very pleasing to receive the
welcome and praise we got from
people in the city centre. It just
confirmed that the vast majority of
people are sensible, law-abiding
citizens who take pride in where
they live and work.”
Crew Manager Gilliam and
Firefighter Pritchard also did a live
10th Anniversary of 9/11
GMFRS 9/11 TRIBUTES
FIRE stations across Greater
Manchester observed one
minute’s silence to mark the 10th
anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks in America when nearly
3,000 people died, including 343
firefighters in New york.
GMFRS marked the anniversary
by opening each of the county’s
41 fire stations to allow the public
to pay their respects.
to the victims of the terrorist
attacks in which we lost so many
of our American colleagues.”
In addition to the minute’s silence
at each fire station, four larger
commemorative events also took
place across the region:
■ At Manchester Cathedral, a
service featured Acts of
Remembrance and Dedication.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Jim
Owen, read a lesson and led
prayers.
■ At Bolton, a lantern blessed by
the Reverend of Bolton was
carried to all four Bolton Fire
Stations (Farnworth, Horwich,
Bolton North, Bolton Central)
and then headed a parade to
the Town Hall Square, where a
short service and two minutes’
silence took place at 1.46pm.
ACANDLEISLItFORCOLLEAGUESLOStINtHE
9/11AttACKS
Each station held a minute’s
silence at 1.46pm – the time
when American Airlines Flight 11
hit the north tower of the World
Trade Center, the first of four
planes hijacked that day.
Executive Steve McGuirk said: “I,
like many others, vividly recall the
events of 10 years ago and the
scale of the horror that unfolded.
“It was important that everyone at
Rescue Service had an
opportunity to pay their respects
■ At Gorton Fire Station, a small
service and minute’s silence,
led by Reverend David Gray,
took place in the fire station
memorial garden. Firefighters
were joined by local emergency
service colleagues, British
Legion representatives and
other local agencies in paying
their respects. During the
service, a commemorative tree
was planted, and a wreath laid.
■ At Leigh Fire Station, Rev
Norman Price read a lesson.
Attendees included Andy
Burnham MP and Deputy
Lieutenant of Greater
Manchester, Jim Maloney.
tHECOMMEMORAtIvEtREEISBLESSEDAtGORtON
9/11 REMEMBRANCE
PAINTING
LOCAL artist Phil Frain marked
the 10 year anniversary of the
9/11 terrorist attacks in America
by presenting Bolton North with a
framed print of a special painting
of remembrance.
Phil created ‘343 Remembrance’
as an emotional tribute to the 343
firefighters who died when the
Twin Towers in New york
collapsed.
Phil said: “Both my wife and I
have a passion for the fire service.
PHILPRESENtStHEPAINtINGtOBOLtONNORtH
9
10th Anniversary of 9/11
I was deeply touched by a story in
the Bolton News saying that a
special ceremony was being
organised by the fire and rescue
service in Bolton for 9/11 and for
all firefighters that had fallen.”
10
Phil completed the painting in
order to mark the occasion and
handed over a fully framed print to
Station Manager Brian Wiggans
and Watch Manager Nicholas
Rowbotham following the
minute’s silence held at 1.46pm.
Brian said: “Clearly a lot of time
and effort has gone into this
poignant tribute. I am honoured to
have received the painting on
behalf of the Service and Bolton
North Fire Station is proud to
house this constant reminder of
that fateful day.”
Service Delivery Bolton
Statistics
Bolton Central, Bolton North, Horwich and Farnworth
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
Number of accidental dwelling fires
119
117
54
123
Total deliberate fires
668
879
280
966
Primary fires (dwellings)
145
153
78
179
Secondary fires (rubbish, etc)
523
726
202
787
The number of incidents involving
hostilities towards firefighters
2
0
1
6
Fatalities
1
0
1
1
Injuries
23
27
13
28
Building fires
341
354
160
395
Number of people rescued from fires
16
0
10
10
Total number of calls to road traffic
collisions
37
0
20
48
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
Actual generated activity
130
122
209.5
Completed volunteers
hours
116
hours
122
hours
167.5
Cancelled activity / no
volunteer available hours
14
% of hours completed
against requested
89.2
against requested
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
60
Completed
Enforcement Notices
15
Prohibitions
0
0
100
42
against requested
80
4019
11
Service Delivery Bolton
Bolton Central, Bolton North, Horwich and Farnworth
Borough Manager
Contact Details
Ian Bailey
Borough Manager Bolton
W52 HORWICH
W51 BOLTON NORTH
W50 BOLTON CENTRAL
Ian Bailey


01204 905 127
W53 FARNWORTH
[email protected]
Authority Members
Mohammed Ayub
Labour
Lynda Byrne
Labour
Andrew Morgan
Conservative
Borough News
BOLTON NORTH REACHES
OUT TO THE COMMUNITY
MEMBERS of Hibbert Community
Centre in Bolton visited Bolton
North as part of an outreach
project aimed at Asian youths.
The group aged between seven
and 17 met the crew, as well as
the Enhanced Rescue Unit from
Leigh and a Community Action
Team volunteer.
The visit was arranged by
firefighter John Hampson who
has forged a close working
relationship with the group, which
has helped the Service forge
closer links with their community.
ASIANyOUtHSvISItBOLtONNORtH
12
BOLTON NORTH HELPS
INSPIRE LOCAL
YOUNGSTERS
BOLTON North’s Green Watch
joined Community Fire Safety
Officer, Andrea White, and
members of Bolton Council to
encourage local school children to
develop some high aspirations.
Andrea explained: “I gave a talk to
the children about the role of a
firefighter, as well as other
information including the
repercussions of attacks on
firefighters, anti-social behaviour,
hoax calls and arson. They had
lots of questions for me. Green
Watch were great, showing the
children around the pump and
explaining some of their kit.
Everyone had a great time.”
LATEST FIREFLY TEAM ‘PASS
OUT’
LOCALSCHOOLCHILDRENvISItBOLtONNORtH
The ‘I can make it happen’ project
visited St Columbus’ Primary
School in the town to talk to year
six students about jobs and
citizenship in a bid to raise
aspirations and prevent anti-social
behaviour and teenage
pregnancy.
STUDENTS from Bolton’s Park
School were the latest to ‘pass
out’ with flying colours following
our latest Firefly course at
Farnworth Station. The group, all
part of a pupil referral unit, learned
about fire safety and the effects of
anti-social behaviour, on
communities as part of the
course.
It offers an energetic physical
challenge as well as the chance to
learn skills in fire fighting, home
safety awareness, first-aid, team
building, communication and
personal development
Community and young People’s
(CyP) Community Fire Safety
Officer, Chris Taylor, said: “This
course was solely funded by Park
School and was designed to their
specific requirements. In the end
we exceeded their expectations
and the course finished with nine
young people, which is a 90 per
cent retention rate which is
unusual for this course.”
The ‘passing out parade’ was
attended by Borough Manager
Ian Bailey, Director of ICT, Damian
Parkinson, Tony Doyle and family
and friends of the students
involved.
Firefly, is a five-day accredited
course run by GMFRS staff aimed
at young people aged between
11 and 17-years-old who have
offended or may be at risk of
offending in the future. It tackles
those displaying anti-social
behaviour including arson and
hoax calls to the emergency
services.
AStUDENtRECEIvESHISCERtIFICAtEFROM
BOROUGHMANAGERIANBAILEy
13
Service Delivery Bury
Statistics
Bury, Ramsbottom and Whitefield
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
57
69
31
74
280
324
113
360
77
63
38
75
203
261
75
285
0
0
0
1
Fatalities
0
0
0
0
Injuries
9
9
6
10
174
189
91
214
7
0
5
2
collisions
21
0
9
30
Building fires
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
Volunteers Activity
149.5
hours
123.5
hours
against requested
14
July
40
82.6
Aug
Sept
56
29.5
hours
53
10.5
3
against requested
73.8
against requested
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
85
Completed
Enforcement Notices
8
Prohibitions
4
40
Volunteers Activity
1280
94.6
E38 RAMSBOTTOM
Borough Manager
Contact Details
E36 BURY
Pete Riley
Borough Manager Bury
Pete Riley


E37 WHITEFIELD
0161 909 0327
[email protected]
Authority Members
Alan Matthews
Labour
Sandra Walmsley
Labour
Borough News
BURY JOINS FORCES WITH
POLICE ‘NIGHT TIME
ECONOMY’ TEAM
Police have agreed a number of
actions to improve the way fire
safety ‘offenders’ are identified.
MEMBERS of Bury Borough have
been working with police
colleagues to target those who
breach fire safety regulations.
The new approach means that
police officers who work in the
town centre are now trained in the
basics of fire safety with a
particular focus on licensed
premises, which are often the
subject of fire safety prohibitions
and court action.
Borough Manager, Pete Riley, and
Divisional Commander, John
Rush, from Greater Manchester
The partnership scheme means
that there are now more people
‘looking out’ for fire risks in town
centre premises and any
information is passed to Bury’s fire
safety team for action.
The training package was
developed and delivered by
Watch Manager and Fire
Protection Officer, Alan Hudson,
who worked with Police Sergeant
15
Service Delivery Bury
Marie Ratcliffe to arrange
partnership work between the fire
service and the police Night Time
Economy team.
SEATBELT SAFE IN BURY
ALMOST 150 people opted to
watch a graphic presentation
about the consequences of not
wearing a seatbelt at Bury Fire
Station following a joint safety
campaign with Greater
Manchester Police and Bury Road
Safety Team.
The presentation, delivered by
firefighter Alan Firth and road
safety specialist Brendan
Mattocks, included visual images
designed to shock people into
changing their behaviour.
Volunteers from our Community
Action Team helped welcome the
‘guests’, who were pulled over for
not wearing their seatbelts by
GMP outriders and given the
option of watching the videos or
paying a fine.
Following the presentation
everyone who attended, including
a large group of 17 to 25-yearolds, filled out a questionnaire
which resulted in some really
positive feedback about the
initiative.
Bury, Ramsbottom and Whitefield
PARTNERSHIP TACKLES
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
partnership working has proved
very successful."
BURy firefighters have been
working with local police as part
of an operation to prevent human
trafficking in the borough.
COMMUNITY CAFÉ
And whilst police did not discover
any issues during their tour of
‘massage parlours’ in Prestwich
and Whitefield, one establishment
did receive a fire safety prohibition
notice to ensure improvements
were made.
The joint operation, run by Greater
Manchester Police, GMFRS and
Bury Council licensing and trading
standards teams, checked health
and safety as well as chatting with
managers about the dangers of
getting involved in the human
trafficking trade.
PC Andy Ferguson said: "We are
looking at human trafficking and
making sure people who work in
these premises are there of their
own free will and happy to be
there. It’s been very successful
and has introduced to us some
extremely well run premises, but
some other premises are of a very
poor standard."
DUE to exceptional demand the
Redeeming our Communities
(ROC) Café, which launched last
December at Bury Fire Station, is
opening more.
This means that from August
2011 the café has been
welcoming young people to the
local ‘hang-out’ twice a month,
helping to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour in the area. Fire
crew and Greater Manchester
Police (GMP) run the evenings,
where young people can enjoy a
host of fantastic facilities including
a pool table, table football, video
games and refreshment area.
The café is open on the first and
third Thursday evening of each
calendar month.
Watch Manager Alan Hudson said
safety issues in this type of
establishment were first
highlighted at a massage parlour
in Radcliffe last July.
Alan said: "We decided to take a
closer look at premises in the
borough so the opportunity for
16
Service Delivery Manchester
Statistics
Moss Side, Withington, Wythenshawe, Manchester Central,
Blackley, Gorton and Philips Park
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
271
264
134
277
1309
1278
672
1403
292
216
149
251
1017
1062
523
1152
7
0
4
2
Fatalities
2
0
0
3
Injuries
50
42
22
49
Building fires
715
627
348
701
21
0
12
14
collisions
82
0
44
78
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
502
487.5
350.5
hours
363.5
hours
236.5
hours
439.5
124
114
62.5
against requested
74.6
against requested
67.5
against requested
87.6
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
289
Completed
Enforcement Notices
30
Prohibitions
3
5707
17
S17 BLACKLEY
Borough Manager
Contact Details
S16 MCR CENTRAL
S18 PHILIPS PARK
S19 GORTON
S13 MOSS SIDE
Andy Heywood
S14 WITHINGTON
Borough Manager Manchester
Andy Heywood


S15 WYTHENSHAWE
0161 608 5327
[email protected]
Authority Members
18
Henry Cooper
Labour
Basil Curley
Labour
Tommy Judge
Labour
Paul Shannon
Lib Dem
Grace Fletcher-Hackwood
Labour
Borough News
FUN IN THE PARK AT
BLACKLEY OPEN DAY
SAFETY ADVICE AT MULTI
FAITH EVENT
FIRE REDUCTION IN
MANCHESTER
STAFF, volunteers and cadets
greeted hundreds of people at
Blackley’s open day held in
Heaton Park in July.
MANCHESTER’S 8th Annual
Multi-faith event was held in
September in places of worship
and community centres across
the city in a bid to highlight
different religions and ways of life
for different community groups.
DANGEROUS buildings were
boarded up, rubbish removed and
a number of tasks identified and
actioned thanks to a summer
initiative to address the increase in
small fires.
Visitors were treated to a display
of our vehicles, met the Urban
Search and Rescue Team
including the ever popular search
and rescue dogs, the Salvation
Army, a penalty shoot-out
competition and even a fly-past
by India 99, the Police’s helicopter
unit, raising £962.24 for the
Firefighters Charity.
The weekend began with an
opening ceremony at Abraham
Moss High School with music
from a range of cultures and
numerous groups within the area
including the Temple Primary
School choir.
Events at the Al Khizra Mosque
and the Dashmesh Sikh temple
were attended by GMFRS staff
who delivered fire prevention
advice and fortified strong
community links.
FIREFIGHtERSDISPLAyEQUIPMENtAtHEAtONPARK
Peter O’Reilly, Director of
Prevention and Protection, said: “I
want to thank everyone who took
part in the event. The location, the
displays and most importantly all
the GMFRS representatives were
a credit to the organisation and
everyone contributed to a fantastic
experience for the crowds of
visitors I saw on the day.”
FLy-tIPPINGINMANCHEStER
The Jewish Museum hosted an
interfaith act of remembrance with
readings from the Hebrew
Scriptures, The Holy Koran and
the New Testament of the
Christian Bible on September 11.
The remembrance ended with
one minute’s silence as respect
for those who lost their life in the
incidents of 9/11.
FLy-tIPPINGINMANCHEStER
The targeted activity was
launched by colleagues in
Manchester borough in specific
areas of the city including Newall
19
Green, Collyhurst Village and
Clayton Vale.
As part of the initiative, the crew
held talks regarding nuisance
fires, water safety and hoax
calling, carried out leaflet/poster
drops to local businesses about
skip and bin fires, issued
dangerous building posters and
collated photographic evidence of
fly-tipping sites which were
reported to local authority
colleagues
GORTON 8 ‘TILL LATE
PROJECT
yOUNG people at risk of being
recruited by local gangs were
welcomed to Gorton Fire Station
for an innovative new initiative
aimed at reducing knife and gun
crime.
The group of youngsters aged
between eight and 11-years-old
visited as part of the ‘8 til late’
project, which is the first of its
kind in Gorton.
The day’s activities, organised by
the duty watch and Fire
Prevention Team in Manchester
Borough, included presentations
on the effects of vehicle crime and
hoax phone calls. This also gave
the group the opportunity to ask
questions about the Fire Service
and role of a firefighter.
The rest of the day was spent on
the yard doing basic training
activities with the watch on basic
first aid, search and rescue and a
road traffic collision drill. They also
got to experience what it is like to
wear breathing apparatus with
their vision obstructed and what it
is like to be in a car crash.
FIREFIGHTERS CLIMB HILTON
TOWER FOR CHARITY
FIREFIGHtERStACKLEtHEStEPSINSIDE
BEEtHAMtOWER
They completed the climb in 12
minutes and raised £100 each in
sponsorship for the event. On the
day, 122 people completed the
climb, the quickest being five
minutes - although one person
took an entire hour.
The event was organised by the
Cystic Fibrosis Trust to raise
money for its work in research,
support and care of those with
cystic fibrosis.
FIREFIGHTERS from Green
Watch at Philip’s Park Fire Station
climbed Europe’s tallest building
wearing full breathing apparatus
and kit to raise money for charity.
GORtONCHILDRENtRyONFIREFIGHtINGFORSIZE
20
Firefighter Danny Martin and crew
manager Tony Harrison took part
in the event at Manchester’s
Beetham Tower (the Hilton Hotel),
which is the tallest residential
building in Europe at 169 metres
and 46 storeys high.
Service Delivery Oldham
Statistics
Oldham, Hollins and Chadderton
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
89
87
52
94
685
870
279
948
124
138
51
159
561
732
228
789
3
0
1
5
Fatalities
0
0
0
1
Injuries
18
30
8
32
Building fires
259
279
125
311
8
0
3
11
collisions
34
0
19
30
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
56
139
112
hours
40
hours
19
hours
76
16
120
36
against requested
13.7
against requested
against requested
71.4
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
94
Completed
Enforcement Notices
8
Prohibitions
2
67.9
3442
21
Service Delivery Oldham
Oldham, Hollins and Chadderton
Borough Manager
Contact Details
E35 CHADDERTON
Kev Talbot
E33 OLDHAM
Borough Manager Oldham
Kev Talbot


E34 HOLLINS
0161 909 8627
[email protected]
Authority Members
Derek Heffernan
Lib Dem
Bernard Judge
Labour
Steve Williams
Labour
Borough News
FIREFIGHTERS TAKE CENTRE
STAGE IN THEATRE DRAMA
FIREFIGHTERS need to be flexible
when facing demanding and
unusual situations and a teenager
allowed a crew from Chadderton
prove they are just that.
The crew were called to the
hospital to remove a ring stuck on
a 14-year-old’s finger.
22
Firefighters inspected the ring and
discovered it was stainless steel –
meaning that neither the hospital’s
nor their cutting equipment was
going to cut through it.
The crew was needed in theatre
to assist so they had to take their
fire gear off and get into hats,
surgical gloves, aprons and shoe
protectors.
The watch manager and the
consultant decided that the only
way they would be able to cut it
off was if the boy was given a
local anaesthetic to allow them to
be more aggressive with the
cutting equipment.
Firefighters used the medical
equipment to get underneath the
ring and the trauma technician
began cutting it with a hacksaw
blade.
The metal was so tough, it was
clear that it was going to take
more than one blade to get
through it.
A message went out for the
second pump from Chadderton
to bring more blades – not the
average request they get from
colleagues – and they brought 10
more blades.
After 50 minutes of methodical
sawing, the ring was removed
and the boy’s finger was saved.
The crew’s open-mindedness and
adaptability to use kit that wasn’t
their own, in an unusual setting,
meant the 14-year-old walked
away from the incident with no
scars and a story to tell his
friends.
LANDS END TO JOHN
O’GROATS – 874 MILES IN 10
DAYS!
FIREFIGHTERS Mike Soumelidis
Simms and Ian Hall from Blue
Watch, Oldham, took part in the
biggest challenge of their lives in
August – cycling from John
O’Groats to Lands End in support
of The Fire Fighters Charity and
Help for Heroes.
Mike said: “We did this challenge
to raise money for these two
charities because every day the
men and women of the armed
forces and fire and rescue
services risk their lives in order to
protect the public. We think it only
right to raise money for the
charities that look after the families
and those injured in the line of duty.”
senior officers, local councillors
and the Mayor of Oldham.
Ian added: “As serving firefighters
and also having ex-forces
personnel in the fire services we
understand how much of a
difference having these charities
around makes in the lives of those
in need. All donations will be split
50/50 between each charity.”
The children introduced
themselves and immediately
embraced events with excitement
and enthusiasm. Mark talked the
children through the day’s
proceedings with the support of a
Russian speaking interpreter.
Throughout the journey they were
escorted by a mini bus carrying all
their bikes and auxiliary
equipment and at night slept at
fire stations along the route.
For anyone wishing to make
donations the pair have a website
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/
BLOODSWEATANDGEARS2
STATION PROVIDES BOOST
FOR BELARUS VISITORS
OLDHAM Fire Station was
approached by the town’s
Mayor’s office and asked if they
could host a visit from a group of
young people from Belarus near
Chernobyl.
The children were kitted out in
safety gear and given a tour of the
station.
They sampled various pieces of
kit off the appliance and were
shown how it all worked.
Green Watch then gave a series
of demonstration drills using the
appliances and the Hydraulic
Platform.
The day ended with an exchange
of gifts and all children left with a
goodie bag of treats that had
been donated by local
businesses.
The group was visiting as part of
the newly elected mayor’s charity.
The Community Fire Safety
department from the borough and
Green Watch at Oldham Fire
Station were more than happy to
help.
The day started with an
introduction from Community
Safety Officer Mark Thomson,
who introduced staff members,
BELARUSCHILDRENARESHOWNOLDHAM’SKIt
23
Service Delivery Rochdale
Statistics
Rochdale, Littleborough and Heywood
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
86
102
43
107
612
705
258
772
125
126
75
146
487
579
183
626
3
0
1
2
Fatalities
1
0
0
0
Injuries
13
21
2
24
Building fires
268
288
147
320
14
0
1
6
collisions
34
0
18
33
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
134
110
110
hours
127
hours
93
hours
91.5
17
18.5
against requested
83.2
against requested
24
7
94.8
against requested
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
73
Completed
Enforcement Notices
22
Prohibitions
1
84.5
2475
Borough Manager
Contact Details
E31 LITTLEBOROUGH
E30 ROCHDALE
Dave Kirkham
E32 HEYWOOD
Borough Manager Rochdale
Dave Kirkham


01706 900127
[email protected]
Authority Members
Daalat Ali
Labour
June West
Labour
Borough News
MAYORAL VISIT
THE Mayor of Rochdale Cllr Alan
Godson and Mayoress Gillian
Brown recently visited Rochdale.
The visit consisted of a
presentation detailing many of the
initiatives currently being delivered
across the borough followed by a
Road Traffic Collision Extrication
demonstration given by Red
Watch crew. As part of the visit,
the Mayor and Mayoress took a
tour of the existing fire station
which will soon be replaced by a
brand new station in Halifax
Road.
Both were extremely impressed
by the diversity of local initiatives
being delivered by firefighters and
community safety staff, as well as
the role being played by
volunteers in the local community.
Also attending were Fire Authority
members Cllr Daalat Ali and Cllr
June West, as well as Ghulam
Shazhad, Chair of the Rochdale
BME Fire Association.
25
Service Delivery Rochdale
Borough Manager Dave Kirkham,
who extended the invitation
during the Mayor’s inauguration
ceremony at Rochdale Town Hall
in May of this year, said: “We are
delighted that the Mayor and
Mayoress were able to accept our
invitation thereby giving us the
opportunity to showcase the work
of Greater Manchester Fire and
Rescue Service here in Rochdale.
“They were genuinely impressed
with the level of Fire Service
involvement across all the
communities of Rochdale and
thoroughly enjoyed watching the
RTC demonstration and meeting
operational staff. Their visit was
the continuation of a long tradition
of Mayoral visits which have
always been enjoyable and
informative for all concerned.”
The photograph above shows the
Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale
with Borough Manager Dave
Kirkham, Station Manager at
Rochdale Andy Bracken,
Authority Members Cllr. June
26
Rochdale, Littleborough and Heywood
West and Cllr. Daalat Ali, Chair of
the Rochdale BME Fire
Association Ghulam Rasul
Shazhad and members of Red
Watch Rochdale Fire Station.
SERVICES SWEEP TO KEEP
KIRKHOLT SAFE
A MULTI-agency day-of-action
was held in the Rochdale
community of Kirkholt during
August. Community Fire Safety
Officers were joined by
representatives from our partner
agencies including Greater
Manchester Police and Rochdale
Boroughwide Housing, as well as
officers from Environmental
Services.
Over 360 properties were visited
and residents were offered free
Home Fire Risk Assessments,
with the police offering advice on
security and burglary reduction,
environmental services giving
advice on re-cycling and
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing
officers, caretakers and wardens
on hand to discuss any issues.
Over 70 residents signed up for a
free Home Fire Risk Assessments,
which included fitting free 10-year
smoke alarms as well as offering
advice on escape plans in the
event of a fire.
FIREFIGHtERSvISItKIRKHOLt
Community Fire Safety Officer,
Mick Cryer, said: “We have
undertaken several of these days
of action recently across the
borough and they have been a
great success, along with our
partner agencies we are providing
a visual presence in the
community to make Rochdale a
safer environment for all. We have
more of these days planned for
later this year and beyond.”
ROCHDALE OPEN DAY
IN September, Rochdale opened
its doors to the public for the final
time – before relocating to new
premises in Halifax Road in April
2012.
The Museum also held its monthly
open day to coincide with this
event and provided a varied and
interesting range of old appliances
for the community to view,
including a 1914 vehicle named
‘Jezebel’.
Station Manager Andy Bracken
said: “The day went really well
and the weather held off despite
threatening clouds at one point.
Several hundred visitors attended
throughout the day, some staying
to watch the Road Traffic Collision
demonstration undertaken by
Heywood and Rochdale’s crew.”
The Community Action Team
volunteers again proved
invaluable by offering their
assistance in obtaining Home Fire
Risk Assessment referrals. One of
the volunteers, Darren, also acted
as a casualty for the
demonstration.
The event proved a big hit
particularly with the children who
had lots of fun on the day and
made the most of the bouncy
castle and musical carousel.
SOMEOFtHEvINtAGEvEHICLESONDISPLAyAt
ROCHDALEOPENDAy
27
Service Delivery Salford
Statistics
Salford, Broughton, Agecroft, Eccles and Irlam
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
128
126
74
131
636
687
306
757
167
156
96
182
469
531
210
575
9
0
9
7
Fatalities
1
0
1
1
Injuries
18
27
5
28
Building fires
361
351
206
389
11
0
6
16
collisions
46
0
23
41
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
175
hours
117
58
against requested
28
66.9
Volunteers Activity
Sept
261.5
265.5
hours
81.5
hours
51.5
180
214
against requested
31.2
against requested
19.4
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
Completed
123
Enforcement Notices
9
Prohibitions
2
Aug
3082
Borough Manager
Contact Details
W59 BROUGHTON
W60 AGECROFT
W61 ECCLES
W58 SALFORD
Paul Petrykowski
Borough Manager Salford
Paul Petrykowski


W62 IRLAM
0161 609 0220
[email protected]
Authority Members
Jim Dawson
Labour
Iain Lindley
Conservative
George Wilson
Labour
Borough News
THE TWEET IS ON
PEOPLE in Salford can now find
out more about what the Fire
Service is doing in their local area
by using Twitter.
A new profile has been set up by
GMFRS called @SalfordFireTeam,
updating people about fire safety,
community activity and anything
of particular interest.
Twitter is a social networking site
that allows users to send short
text messages of 140 characters,
called ‘tweets’, to friends or
followers.
Despite @salfordfireteam being
live less than a week, they have
already been receiving responses,
including a woman who wanted
29
Service Delivery Salford
to find out if the local fire crew
wanted a table at a local football
match.
The profile is being managed by
GMFRS Community Safety
Advisor Melanie Bowling. She
said: “I felt we did a lot of fantastic
work in our local community in
Salford which wasn’t being
reflected to its full potential on the
social media network. There are
many local people using Twitter,
including partner agencies that
we work closely with.
“We’ll be using our new profile to
highlight what we are doing
throughout the borough,
highlighting fire safety messages
and tapping into the work of our
local partners.”
Mel is encouraging everyone to let
her have any Salford-related
GMFRS news that they want
highlighting on Twitter. Email her
your tweet with the subject as
“Twitter” (it needs to be less than
140 characters including spaces).
This profile is in addition to the
main GMFRS Twitter profile which
you can follow at @manchesterfire
We also have a Facebook profile
which can be found by searching
Rescue Service.
Salford, Broughton, Agecroft, Eccles and Irlam
BROUGHTON HOST FIRST
FAMILY DAY
BROUGHTON firefighters teamed
up with health experts to host
their first ever ‘Family Health and
Fire Day’ at the station when they
opened up the doors to local
school children and their parents.
Crew Manager, Paul Harrison,
from Red Watch suggested a joint
event to include fire safety advice
and health checks after a meeting
with the local health authority.
Watch Manager, Chris Rainford,
also attended the event saying:
“As Paul rightly pointed out, our
prime directive is saving lives, but
providing health screening in the
welcoming environment of the fire
station proved to be a winner.
“To organise the event we
engaged with a local school to
find as many parents and children
as we could accommodate.
Initially, we were fully booked out
with over 40 people taking up our
kind offer but this number was
doubled on the day as word
seemed to get around the
neighbourhood about what we
were doing!
FAMILyHEALtHANDFIREDAyAtBROUGHtON
“We ended up screening around
one hundred people – all of whom
were treated to a tour of the
station and appliances.
“Feedback, both from the health
professionals and the community,
on the day was tremendous with
all involved hoping this would be
the first of many rather, than a one
off.”
FAMILyHEALtHANDFIREDAyAtBROUGHtON
30
LIFESAVERS APPEAL
IRLAM fire station was the venue
for a successful recruitment drive
by Irlam and Cadishead
Community First Responders
(CFR).
The HeartStart Emergency
Lifesaving Skills course involved
lessons on how to treat an
unconscious casualty, choking, a
severe bleed and a cardiac arrest.
Twelve people attended and the
CFR team are hoping the course
will encourage other people to join
them as a permanent part of their
team. At present they have just
four members who between them
respond to about 12 incidents a
month as well as giving talks and
attending fairs.
BROUGHTON GREEN
COMMUNITY EVENT
HFRAs SNAPPED UP IN
WORSLEY
BROUGHTON Fire Station staff
took a fire engine to a community
event in Broughton Green as a
talking point to help them engage
with friends in the local Jewish
community. The crew handed out
householder safety leaflets and
advice about parking in narrow
streets, which is a specific issue in
the area.
IN the first week of July the
Worsley Salford Neighbourhood
Action Project took place. In total
75 targeted Home Fire Risk
Assessments were completed
with a further 20 to arrange at a
later date. Two occupiers had
deaf alerter alarms fitted and the
emergency 999 SMS messaging
service was set up on their
phone.
PRIMEMINIStERDAvIDCAMERONvISItSSALFORDFIREStAtIONFOLLOWING
CIvILUNREStINAUGUSt
31
Service Delivery Stockport
Statistics
Whitehill, Stockport, Cheadle, Offerton and Marple
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
96
69
42
73
430
492
190
539
90
84
58
97
340
408
132
442
2
0
0
4
Fatalities
0
0
0
2
Injuries
18
15
8
17
Building fires
241
204
129
229
6
0
2
10
collisions
37
0
22
37
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
264
289
385.5
hours
207
hours
148
hours
57
141
179.5
against requested
51.2
against requested
53.4
against requested
32
78.4
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
91
Completed
Enforcement Notices
5
Prohibitions
0
1789
206
Borough Manager
Contact Details
S20 WHITEHILL
S21 STOCKPORT
S24 MARPLE
S23 OFFERTON
Bill Harrop
S22 CHEADLE
Borough Manager Stockport
Bill Harrop


0161 608 5427
[email protected]
Authority Members
Mick Jones
Conservative
Wendy Meikle
Lib Dem
David Wilson
Labour
Borough News
BACK TO SCHOOL WITH
FUTUREWISE
STOCKPORT Borough
Community Fire Safety staff went
back to school recently to raise
awareness of safety issues.
A multi-agency initiative targeted
Bramhall High, Kingsway High, St
James RC High and Cheadle
Hulme High where some students
were having difficulty engaging
with academic life and displayed
behavioural or emotional
problems.
GMFRS highlighted fire safety,
hoax calls, arson and the
consequences of dangerous
driving, whilst also promoting the
Home Fire Risk Assessment
service.
The course facilitator, Shelly
Fletcher, was so impressed with
GMFRS’ role and the way the
young people were engaged that
she asked the Service to present
students with their Certificates of
Achievement at the end of term
Awards Ceremony.
33
Service Delivery Stockport
CAR BOOT SALE
WHITEHILL Fire Station held its
first car boot sale in August,
which doubled up as an
opportunity to have an open
house for people to come to the
station, look around and receive
fire safety advice.
Demand for spaces was high and
although the drill yard is one of
the biggest in Greater Manchester
it soon became impossible to get
another car on site!
FACEPAINtINGAtWHItEHILLCARBOOtSALE
Whitehill, Stockport, Cheadle, Offerton and Marple
In addition to the car boot sellers
there was a selection of activities
including fire engines, our Urban
Search and Rescue vehicle, small
funfair with rides and slides, a
face painter, candy floss and a
cake stall, to keep the kids
entertained while the adults
shopped for bargains.
Kitchen fire safety demonstrations
took place throughout the day
and Community Action Team
(CAT) volunteers mingled with the
crowds to offer free Home Fire
Risk Assessments. Station staff
were also supported by
neighbouring stations, CAT
volunteers, Community Safety
Advisors, Community Fire Safety
staff and administration staff.
Crew also set up an impromptu
‘Firefighter Experience’ for some
of the younger visitors to put on
some fire gear and a mini
Breathing Apparatus set and
search an area whilst following a
guideline and having their vision
blanked out.
The event raised £680 in addition
to a further £150 on the
Firefighters Charity stall selling
helmets and water blasters. The
money raised is to be divided
between The Firefighters Charity
and Help For Heroes.
FIREFIGHTERS TAKE PART IN
EDUCATION PROJECT
yOUNG people at Reddish Vale
Technology College learnt what
it’s like to be a firefighter through a
new project developed by
Stockport Borough Prevention
Department.
Red Watch at Whitehill visited the
college where they delivered
lessons in safety and added a bit
of drama to the day when they
cut two pupils out of a car in a
mock exercise.
The idea was to highlight the
consequences of arson, hoax
calls and dangerous driving. The
scheme was part of a Post 16
Transition Project involving school
leavers.
Linda Appleton, Director of
Extended School/Vocational
Learning Coordinator at Reddish
Vale Technology College, said:
“We all thought it was brilliant –
staff and youngsters alike. It
certainly got the message across
and was the topic of conversation
in between the workshops today.
“Sincere thanks to the Watch who
enacted the car crash scene. We
all admire the job that they do and
were grateful to them for giving up
some of their precious time to
support our youngsters.”
WHItEHILLCARBOOtSALE
34
Service Delivery Tameside
Statistics
Ashton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge, Mossley and Hyde
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
59
75
31
78
453
513
194
565
90
87
49
104
363
426
145
461
0
0
0
1
Fatalities
0
0
0
0
Injuries
19
15
8
19
Building fires
197
219
103
245
4
0
1
8
collisions
28
0
14
39
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
143
241
218
hours
138
hours
109
hours
87.5
132
130.5
against requested
45.2
against requested
40.1
against requested
5
96.5
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
52
Completed
Enforcement Notices
9
Prohibitions
0
3439
35
Service Delivery Tameside
Ashton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge, Mossley and Hyde
Borough Manager
Contact Details
E41 MOSSLEY
E39 ASHTON
E40 STALYBRIDGE
Jon Heydon
Borough Manager Tameside
Jon Heydon


E42 HYDE
0161 609 1627
[email protected]
Authority Members
John Bell
Conservative
Barrie Holland
Labour
Michael Smith
Labour
Borough News
TAMESIDE PILE-UP PUTS
LIFE SAVING SKILLS TO THE
TEST
Firefighters attended a serious
crash on the M67 motorway near
Hyde in August involving two
lorries and a car.
One of the lorry drivers was
trapped in the cab with serious
leg injuries and the air ambulance
36
was called to lift the casualty to
hospital.
A number of car drivers had
stopped to help, doing their best
to redirect traffic around the
incident. A passing doctor from
Sheffield also stopped to assist
the driver of one of the Heavy
Goods Vehicles that had taken
the brunt of the impact. He
climbed up the crushed car,
which was embedded under the
front of the HGV and supported
the casualty until the emergency
services arrived.
The firefighters used cutting gear
to gain initial access to the driver’s
cab via the passenger door.
Trauma technicians confirmed the
driver was trapped by his legs
and had facial injuries.
An Emergency Response Unit
from Ashton Fire Station arrived
with support crew and used a
winch to lift the front of the vehicle
off the casualty.
After gaining access to the cab
through the passenger door
Firefighter Robinson, from Hyde
Fire Station, was able to make a
quick assessment and confirmed
that the driver was trapped by his
legs and had massive facial
injuries.
As the Enhanced Rescue Unit
from Ashton arrived with the
support crew it was decided that
the most effective plan would be
to winch the front of the vehicle
off the casualty this was backed
up with a ram to ensure it did not
slip back.
With Hazardous Area Response
Teams and several paramedics in
attendance, the casualty was
soon out of the vehicle and
loaded into the air ambulance that
had landed a short distance up
the carriageway.
This was a good example of all
the agencies including police and
highways agency all working
together to resolve an incident
successfully.
The casualty was transported to
Wythenshawe hospital and was
critical over night, the next
morning he was reported to be
stable.
Thanks were conveyed to all
concerned during the hot debrief
especially the passing doctor who
supported the casualty until the
services arrived and assisted
through out.
HYDE FIRE STATION OPEN
DAY
THE Tameside community were
given a day in the life of their local
firefighters when the team at Hyde
Fire Station put on an open day.
Demonstrations of the complex
work that goes on at the scene of
a road traffic collision were given,
chip pan fire displays went on
throughout the day and numerous
other activities were put on for
visitors.
The Road Traffic Collision Team
showed the professionalism and
equipment that goes into a
dramatic rescue by cutting the
roof from a car and getting an
injured ‘passenger’ out and to
safety.
Chip pan fire demonstrations
wowed the crowds during the
day’s events and firefighters
showed just how dangerous and
how easily they can ignite.
Crews gave out advice and
explained why thermostatically
controlled deep fat fryers were a
much safer option.
Visitors were also able to try on
the firefighters’ kit and experience
drills, there was wall climbing,
HyDEFIREStAtION
football and the chance to meet
other emergency services with
ambulance and police staff
attending.
Fire investigation dog Echo was
there along with the Urban Search
and Rescue Team and Greater
Manchester Fire Service Museum
brought vintage appliances so
people could compare them to
the brand new ones that Hyde
has.
Other partner agencies were
represented at the event.
The day was organised by White
Watch and supported by the
Princes’ Trust volunteers, the
Community Action team
volunteers and the next
generation volunteers based in
Tameside.
The day was community focused
and £487.62 was also raised for
the Firefighters Charity.
37
Service Delivery Trafford
Statistics
Stretford, Sale and Altrincham
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
71
60
35
64
262
330
113
363
43
45
26
53
219
285
87
310
2
0
1
2
Fatalities
3
0
2
0
Injuries
19
9
13
10
Building fires
165
159
84
178
5
0
1
2
collisions
22
0
6
25
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
193.5
298
68
hours
151.5
hours
256
hours
63
42
5
against requested
38
July
42
78.3
against requested
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
193
Completed
Enforcement Notices
25
Prohibitions
1
85.9
against requested
2866
92.7
Borough Manager
Contact Details
S10 STRETFORD
S11 SALE
Andy Dugdale
S12 ALTRINCHAM
Borough Manager Trafford
Andy Dugdale


0161 608 9227
[email protected]
Authority Members
David Acton
Labour
Dylan Butt
Conservative
Patricia Young
Conservative
Borough News
HARROP FOLD SCHOOL
COMMUNITY EVENT
COLLEAGUES in Trafford’s
prevention team joined police for
a community and personal safety
talk with year eight pupils at
Harrop Fold School. Themes
included staying safe, anti-social
behaviour, arson, trespassing on
train tracks, hoax calls,
consequences of drinking and
peer pressure.
CITY AIRPORT OPEN DAY
A NUMBER of volunteers from
Trafford’s Community Action Team
attended the City Airport open
day. Mixing with the crowds they
provided home fire safety advice
and generated a number of
referrals for home fire risk
assessments in the process.
SCHOOL TALKS HIGHLIGHT
WATER SAFETY
EXTRA educational talks about
the dangers of ‘tomb stoning’ in
Trafford were organised following
reports of young people jumping
into local rivers.
Further protection measures have
also been suggested to the local
council and prevention staff have
visited one site to remove a
39
Service Delivery Trafford
wooden ladder and overhanging
branches from a river bank in a
bid to restrict access to a bridge.
ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN
URGES DRIVERS TO BELT UP
A campaign to educate drivers
against the potential dangers of
not wearing a seat belt was
launched at Stretford Fire Station
as a joint initiative with GMFRS,
Greater Manchester Police and
Trafford Council.
The initiative took place in July
when checks were carried out at
Stretford, Sale and Altrincham
Seymour Grove and Barton Dock
Road. Four vehicles were seized
by police and 124 penalty notices
issued to motorists for failing to
wear a seatbelt.
an alternative to prosecution for
seatbelt offences. The event was
designed to show the potential
dangers and consequences of
failing to belt up.
The initiative in Trafford was timed
to coincide with National Road
Safety Day. The vehicles were
seized after the owners were
stopped for not wearing a
seatbelt then were found to have
no valid insurance.
Moreover, four fixed penalty
notices were given to motorists
for having no insurance, two fixed
penalty notices were given for
illegally tinted windows and five
penalty notices were given for
illegal use of mobile phones.
A further 108 people chose to
attend a 30 minute road safety
event at Stretford Fire Station as
DRIvERSARECHECKEDFORCORRECtSEAtBELtUSE
40
Service Delivery Wigan
Statistics
Wigan, Hindley, Atherton and Leigh
year to date
Target to date
Quarter 2
Prev. year to
date
95
108
49
115
825
951
343
1031
165
111
79
131
660
840
264
900
4
0
1
2
Fatalities
1
0
1
0
Injuries
17
15
7
19
Building fires
340
282
166
315
12
0
7
13
collisions
37
0
18
33
Volunteers
Volunteers Activity
July
Volunteers Activity
Aug
Volunteers Activity
Sept
521.5
517.25
548
hours
514.25
hours
501
hours
47
against requested
3
99.4
against requested
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order
Home Fire Risk
Assessments
Fire Safety Audits
Completed
119
Completed
Enforcement Notices
10
Prohibitions
1
91.4
against requested
516
5
98.9
3829
41
Service Delivery Wigan
Wigan, Hindley, Atherton and Leigh
Borough Manager
Contact Details
W54 WIGAN
W55 HINDLEY
Steve Sheridan
Borough Manager Wigan
Steve Sheridan


W56 ATHERTON
W57 LEIGH
01942 650 127
[email protected]
Authority Members
John O’Brien
Labour
Robert Splaine
Independent
Fred Walker
Labour
Borough News
SMOKE ALARM AND BRAVE
NEIGHBOURS SAVE
PENSIONERS LIFE
TWO brave neighbours and a
smoke alarm fitted during a Home
Fire Risk Assessment just months
earlier saved the life of a
pensioner when a fire raged
through his home in Wigan in
September.
42
Lesley Cunliffe, 82, was alerted by
the smoke alarm and tried to
escape, but only made it as far as
a narrow alleyway between the
house and an outbuilding before
collapsing. With the fire raging,
neighbours Robert Barker and
Carl Healey rushed to help after
spotting Mr Cunliffe in the alley
with the flames from the house
and outhouse burning overhead.
Without any care for their own
safety they ducked under the
flames and dragged him to safety.
Mr Cunliffe was taken to a nearby
hospital but later transferred to
Wythenshawe burns unit with 36
per cent burns.
Wigan Borough manager Steve
Sheridan said: “Both these men
risked their own lives to help save
a neighbour. We will definitely put
them forward for a
commendation. Mr Cunliffe had a
Home Fire Risk Assessment
carried out recently and it was the
smoke alarm we fitted that woke
him up and gave him a chance to
get out of the house.”
The cause of the fire is under
investigation.
FIRE TEAM ‘PASS OUT’
WIGAN borough held a ‘passing
out’ parade in July, to mark the
end of a five-week Fire Team
course, run in conjunction with
our partner agency the Alternative
Child Education centre.
Fire Team is a course run for
young people who have dropped
out of main stream education,
some of which are involved in anti
social behaviour.
This was the fourth Fire Team
course held in Wigan with eight
young people who each received
training in:
■ Team work
■ Fire fighting skills
PUBLIC HEALTH SUCCESS
FOR WIGAN STAFF
TEN members of staff at Wigan
have attained the Royal Society
Protection of Public Health
Training level two qualifications.
■ Car crime and anti-social
behaviour and its effect on
family and society
The course aims to provide the
skills to be able to spot and signpost people to support for various
health issues including smoking
cessation, healthy eating, mental
illness and drug and alcohol
abuse.
The course aims to engage young
people and give them self belief
and confidence to make a better
life for themselves.
It was a full day course with a
formal examination at the end.
The boroughs are expanding the
course to all operational staff.
■ First aid
■ Communication skills
According to the Alternative Child
Education centre, the Fire and
Rescue Service course is the
most popular and successful
course offered to young people,
with many completing previous
three courses now back in
mainstream education and taking
up college courses. One
youngster from last year’s course
has such an ambition to join the
Fire and Rescue Service, that she
has enrolled on a degree course
in public services. Let’s wish her
the best of luck.
43
Strategic Projects and Special Response
NEW FIRE STATION GETS
UNDERWAY
FIRE Authority members Sandra
Walmsley and Alan Matthews
enjoyed the honour of kicking off
the construction of Bury’s new
community fire station in
September.
They were joined by Leader of
Bury Council, Mike Connolly, to
mark the beginning of the £1.6
million investment project to move
the Fire Station from The Roc to
Chamberhall Business Park.
Once complete the building, to be
the environment.
As well as providing the usual
station facilities, Bury will also
offer community meeting rooms
and office space, in a bid to help
develop relationships with local
residents and strengthen our work
with young people.
Fire Authority Member and Bury
Councillor, Alan Matthews, said:
“This project will provide much
more than a conventional fire
station, it will provide an important
sustainable resource for the whole
community, including local people
and community groups, who will
enjoy access to the community
facilities to hold meetings and
events.”
The building is scheduled to open
in June 2012. The existing fire
station site at The Roc has been
sold to Bury Council.
RENOVATION WORK BEGINS
AT BLACKLEY
(LEFttORIGHt)CLLRSANDRAWALMSLEy,
CLLRALANMAttHEWS,EStAtESMANAGER
tIMCHESHIREANDCLLRMIKECONNOLLy
built by Kier Northern, will be
amongst the most energy efficient
fire stations in the country,
hopefully achieving an ‘excellent’
accreditation under Building
Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment
Method (BREEAM), which is a
measure of a building’s carbon
footprint and positive impact upon
44
BLACKLEy Fire Station recently
began refurbishment work that
will see the early 1960s building
benefit from mechanical, electrical
and structural improvements.
BLACKLEyFIREStAtION
community room facility, an
upgrade of existing showers and
toilet facilities and installation of
energy efficient lights, occupancy
sensors and a completely new
internal and external speaker loop
for the PA system.
Speaking about the development
Tony said: “These improvements
will significantly benefit the
working conditions for our staff,
the environment and members of
the public and community groups,
who will enjoy access to the
community facilities to hold
meetings and events."
The Estates and Buildings team
are working closely with Station
Manager Tony Bryan on all
aspects of the project – which is
expected to be completed by
November.
The works will see a new
SAFE4SUMMER CAMPAIGN
LAUNCHED IN WIGAN
WIGAN Borough threw itself into
our campaign to encourage
children to stay out of trouble
during the summer months.
The safe4summer campaign is a
multi agency initiative, led by
GMFRS, that aims to highlight the
dangers young people face from
summer activities such as
barbecues, swimming in
reservoirs, starting moorland fires,
riding off road motorbikes and
making hoax calls. It also helps to
educate young people on looking
after themselves properly with
advice on healthy eating, sex
education and bullying.
visit
Borough Manager, Steve Sheridan,
said: “Our aim is to keep young
people safe to enjoy the many
activities such as swimming,
kayaking, camping and biking that
are available during the summer
months and to keep our resources
free for other emergencies.”
The safe4summer initiative is run
with Greater Manchester Police
and, in Wigan specifically, the
Council. It includes deploying
more Community Police Officers
to give local residents
reassurance that anti-social
behaviour will not be tolerated.
Lowton Community Cadets
attended the launch and will
supported the initiative through a
clean up on Pennington Flash.
TWO MEN FINED FOR SAFETY
BREACH
TWO men have been fined after
breaching fire safety regulations.
Kevin Clarke and Stephen Bailey
appeared before Bury
Magistrates’ in September to face
charges relating to Coco Lounge,
Temptations and Cooler Bar,
which are all in Silver Street in the
town.
GMFRS took legal action
following an inspection of the
three premises. Clarke was fined
£2,700, plus costs, after pleading
guilty to seven offences, including
not having a suitable and
sufficient fire risk assessment and
failing to provide a system of
training for employees in relation
to fire.
Bailey was fined £550, plus costs,
after admitting three offences
relating to a lack of suitable and
sufficient fire risk assessments.
Director of Prevention and
Protection, Peter O'Reilly, said:
"We always support businesses
that work to make their premises
safe for people to use. However,
we will take action against those
businesses that neglect fire safety
and in doing so put the lives of
staff and public at risk. We hope
this court case sends a clear
message that fire safety must be
taken seriously."
HEFTY FINE FOR ECCLES
BUSINESS
A BUSINESS in Eccles has had to
pay out more than £15,000 after
neglecting fire safety.
Silvercrest Properties appeared
before Salford Magistrates in July
to face six charges relating to
New Peel Green Lane, Eccles.
These included failing to make a
suitable and sufficient fire risk
assessment, failing to maintain fire
doors and failing to provide a
suitable fire warning/alarm
system.
In total, magistrates imposed fines
of more than £10,000 and costs
of over £5,000.
Prevention and Protection, said:
“We are willing to take action to
protect the people of Greater
Manchester where business
owners and managers choose not
to treat fire safety as a legitimate
business requirement, and where
necessary we will prosecute
serious offenders.”
45
LANDLORD PROSECUTED
OVER FIRE SAFETY FAILURES
accommodation due to the fire
safety deficiencies.
GROCERS were prosecuted in
July for five offences relating to
safety at Hyde Road Grocers Ltd,
in Hyde Road, Gorton.
At the hearing the owners were
fined £14,976.17 in total, which
included £3,961.17 costs.
The prosecution was launched by
GMFRS after fire crew were called
to a blaze at the premises, which
included a ground floor shop and
two ‘bed sits’ above.
One casualty was treated for
smoke inhalation following the fire,
but Watch Manager Ken Booth
MANAGER IN COURT OVER
FIRE SAFETY BREACHES
THE manager of a massage
parlour has been ordered to
complete 60 hours of unpaid
work after breaching fire safety
requirements.
Dawn Donoghue pleaded guilty to
five out of nine charges in
reference to breaches of the Fire
Safety Order at Scarlett’s
Massage Parlour, Prestwich,
Manchester.
She pleaded guilty to the following
offences:
■ No fire risk assessment
■ Failure to provide an
appropriate fire alarm
NOESCAPE-BLOCKEDWINDOWS
and his crew noted the property
had inadequate means of escape,
inadequate fire resistance and
inadequate means of raising the
alarm in case of fire.
They put interim measures in
place and the following Monday
the fire safety enforcement team
served a prohibition notice on the
property, preventing it from being
used as residential
46
■ Failure to provide a system of
maintenance for fire fighting
equipment
training for relevant persons
maintenance for checking fire
exit doors
Recorder, Eric Lamb, ordered her
to complete 60 hours of unpaid
work and pay costs of £240.
The Area 2 Protection Department
have now invited everyone within
the Bury Metropolitan Borough
area operating this type of
establishment to attend a fire
safety awareness event at Bury
Fire Station. This is to help
provide them with a greater
understanding of their
responsibilities under the Fire
Safety Order 2005.
CHECK FOUND SAFETY
CONCERNS
A PROHIBITION notice was
served on a food store following a
referral from Amber Watch at
Gorton. Watch Manager Renshaw
and Watch Manager Pridmore
visited the Worldwide Foods
premises in Slade Lane,
Longsight, to check on an
obstructed fire exit. They found
the fire exit completely blocked by
stock.
On a subsequent visit they found
the fire exit was clear but the first
floor had been remodelled as a
large loft conversion, which had
happened since the last Fire
Service inspection. This added
floor was being used as a
rest/canteen area, a prayer area
and for the storage of a large
amount of stock. The stock
storage included eight chest
freezers being powered from
loose running domestic extension
leads.
Arrangements were made to
return the following day in a joint
visit with Manchester City
Council’s Building Control, but on
arrival the fire door previously
blocked was now found with the
roller shutter still down and the
door itself padlocked. Building
Control were unable to find an
application for the work done in
constructing the first floor and felt
it was unsafe.
A prohibition was served to
restrict the use of the first floor. A
joint approach has been taken by
Building Control and the Fire
Service to ensure compliance for
the long term.
RESTAURANT BOSSES FINED
OVER FIRE SAFETY
BREACHES
THE bosses of a Salford
restaurant were fined £3,000 for
fire safety breaches and ordered
to pay £5,000 court costs.
When fire inspectors carried out a
routine fire safety audit at the
EastzEast Riverside restaurant,
they found faults with the fire
alarm system and no suitable fire
risk assessment in place.
In September 2009, an Order was
served on the restaurant to
ensure problems were addressed
but, despite numerous follow-up
visits, months later safety issues
still remained.
The company bosses appeared
before Manchester City
Magistrates’ and pleaded guilty to
failing to make suitable and
sufficient fire risk assessment,
failing to comply with a prohibition
notice and failing to maintain the
fire alarm system.
Peter O'Reilly, Assistant Chief Fire
Officer for Greater Manchester
Fire and Rescue Service, said:
"Not having the correct fire safety
procedures in place puts the
public in danger.
“We hope these fines will show
how seriously we take these
matters. We work with businesses
across Greater Manchester to
ensure properties are safer from
fire but we will take action if
standards are not met.”
FIRE SAFETY NEGLECT COST
LANDLORDS DEAR
FATHER and son landlords
received fines totalling over
£30,000 at Manchester City
Magistrates’ Court after breaching
fire safety regulations at multioccupancy premises they let for
commercial use.
Suhail Sawar, 23, of Hasty Lane,
Hale, was fined a total of £17,500
– plus £3365.25 costs – after
admitting seven offences,
including failure to comply with an
enforcement order, failing to
provide an appropriate fire alarm
and failing to provide an
appropriate emergency lighting
system.
All the offences related to twostorey premises at Lawrence
House, Derby Street, Manchester.
Tariq Sawar, 45, of Gore lane,
Alderley Edge, was fined a total of
£7,500, plus £2480.50 costs, for
fire safety offences in relation to
two-storey Victoria House, Derby
Street, Manchester. His offences
included failing to carry out a
suitable and sufficient Fire Safety
Risk Assessment and failing to
comply with an enforcement
order.
Both men were also fined a £15
victim surcharge.
Speaking after the sentences,
Prevention and Protection at
Rescue Service, said: “It was
made clear to these two men that
they alone were the responsible
individuals for ensuring the fire
safety of people in the respective
buildings they owned.
“They comprehensively failed to
do this, despite enforcement
notices being issued.
“Whilst we willingly work with
businesses to help make their
premises safe for people to use,
we will not waver in our duty to
enforce the law and take action
against those people that put
people’s lives at risk through their
neglect of their legal
responsibilities.”
47
HOAX CALLER BROUGHT TO
JUSTICE
Trafford Partnership and Greater
Manchester Police.
TRAFFORD resident Humphrey
Roberts was issued with a fiveyear Anti-Social Behaviour Order
for making a spate of hoax calls
to GMFRS and the North West
Ambulance Service.
Roberts, of Royton Avenue,
Trafford, made a total of 115
nuisance calls and was charged
with four offences, to which he
pleaded guilty at Trafford
Magistrates’ Court on
September 14.
The Order – in addition to 180
hours of unpaid community work
and a referral order – follows
successful partnership working
between GMFRS, the Safer
Sale Fire Station Manager, Tim
Clear, said: “This conviction is a
clear example of partnership
working at its best. From Crew
Manager Ann-Marie Howorth in
Control, through to the police and
prosecution, we have shown that
by sharing information and
working together at all levels we
can secure the right results.
“I hope that Robert’s conviction
and subsequent sentence deters
would be hoax-callers from
wasting the emergency services’
time, resources and potentially
putting people’s lives at risk.”
FIRESAFEtyINSPECtION
48
Events And Campaigns
MANCHESTER MEGA MELA
THE Manchester Mega Mela at
Fallowfield’s Platt Fields Park is
one of the cultural highlights of
our events calendar. The weekend
was attended by a range of our
staff, Community Action Team
volunteers, other agencies and
visitors alike.
StAFFAttENDtHEMANCHEStERMEGAMELA
MEMBERSOFtHEPUBLICENJOyINGtHEDAy
Thousands piled into the
Manchester park, travelling to the
event from all over the country.
Many organisations joined us,
including police, British Red
Cross, British Heart Foundation
and Kidney Research UK, with
our staff and CAT volunteers
making the most of their time by
speaking to people about our
service and completing Home Fire
Risk Assessment (HFRA) forms.
Colourful stalls and workshops
offering a range of activities to
take part in, as well as foods,
clothes, and arts and crafts to buy
carpeted the large field. There
was also a funfair, traditional
Indian dancing and face painting.
Moss Side’s Station Manager, Phil
Nelson, was just one staff
member at the cultural event. He
said: “All the volunteers who
attended did a fantastic job
engaging with the public and
managed to gain over 120 HFRA
referrals. Some people were keen
to speak to their family members
before committing to a HFRA and
were given the free phone number
to speak to the Contact Centre
for an appointment.
Phil continued: “Those who were
spoken to during the two day
event were also made aware of
our seasonal campaign,
safe4summer, and the website
where they could find a host of
summer activities and safety
advice. The possibility of winning
an iPod in our competition
created great interest especially
with the younger members.
“Road Traffic Collision reduction
was also discussed with people
as the posters on our stall created
much discussion around the
topic. It was brilliant to see what a
great presence our Service had
during the event.”
FIRE VICTORY AT BOXING
CONTEST
FIGHTERS at the Battle of the
Badges were cheered on by
champ Amir Khan when they took
to the ring at Bolton’s Reebok
Stadium for the ‘decider’.
The annual boxing match
between GMFRS and Greater
Manchester Police was the final in
a three leg tournament and, after
winning, the Fire and Rescue
Service victors will now get to
keep the trophy for good.
GMFRS‘BEAtS’GMPINBOXINGBOUt
The charity event, watched by
900 spectators, turned out to be
a knockout night of entertainment
which raised valuable funds for a
number of charities and
associations, including The Fire
49
Fighters Charity and Moss Side
Boxing Gym. The fire team took
the contest by six bouts to three.
Executive Steve McGuirk said: “I
am delighted to say the
firefighters won this year’s event –
and it was both a great evening
and a great competition.
“I must say congratulations and
thank you to all the participants
for the months of work to get in to
shape and for the thousands of
pounds they have raised for
charity, and also to the firefighters
and their coaches who have
shown real passion and
commitment. This is the second
year in a row we have won, and of
course I would wish to be
magnanimous so I will hardly
mention it to my good friend and
colleague, Chief Constable Peter
Fahy.”
FIRE SERVICE SCOOPS
PRESTIGIOUS ENVIRONMENT
AWARD
CARING for the environment has
earned GMFRS the overall
‘Example of Excellence’ prize in
the
Ways2Work category in the
Business in the Community 2011
Awards for Excellence.
We scooped the award for our
Green Travel Plan which was set
up to tackle our long-term
sustainability and approach to
fleet management, reducing direct
50
and embedded CO2 emissions at
all stages in the vehicle lifecycle,
from construction to day-to-day
use and final disposal. The plan
also includes sustainable travel
initiatives, such as, fuel efficiency
training for all fleet drivers, public
engagement on safe and fuelefficient driving techniques, as
well as the introduction of a cycleto-work scheme.
The awards highlight the best
examples of the positive impact
businesses are having in the
environment, amongst their
employees, through the supply
chains and in the local
communities in which they
operate.
“They achieved this by constantly
challenging accepted norms,
approaches and technologies and
developing creative solutions. The
award is given in the expectation
that other organisations can learn
from their outstanding example.”
Chief Executive of Business in the
Community, Stephen Howard,
said: “Each year the Awards for
Excellence showcases the most
inspiring and impactful examples
of corporate responsibility in
action. Each of our winners
displays a genuine commitment
to continually improve their
business practices and transform
the communities in which they
operate and do business.
Vice-Chairman of the Fire
Authority Councillor, Henry
Cooper, said: “Winning this award
is fantastic news and it clearly
demonstrates our commitment to
improving the environment and
reducing carbon dioxide
emissions. This is a great
accolade to all those at the fire
service who have been involved
with and have helped support the
overall initiative.”
Dr Iarla Kilbane-Dawe,
independent consultant and chair
of the judging panel 2011 said:
“GMFRS demonstrated
outstanding innovation and
commitment to a holistic
approach to sustainability and to
reducing travel as far as possible
within the scope of their Service.
GMFRS:ENvIRONMENtALEXCELLENCE
“Our winners should be proud of
their achievements particularly in
these challenging times. They are
taking a genuine stand to prove
that doing business and doing
good are not mutually exclusive
concerns.
“We hope that by sharing their
stories and successes, other
companies will be challenged to
place responsible business at the
heart of their operation.”
MAYORAL ‘CHAIN GANG’ PUT
TO WORK
THE Mayors of Bury, Tameside,
the Mayoress of Salford and the
Deputy Mayor of Stockport put
their chains of office to one side in
September to undertake a training
day.
Each of the participants donned
full protective clothing, breathing
apparatus and battled their way
through the various exercises that
gave them an insight into the type
of challenges firefighters face,
specialist equipment the Service
requires and the varied nature of
the firefighter role.
The Mayor of Bury Councillor
yvonne Creswell said: “I found the
day enjoyable and it has
enlightened me to the full extent
of the duties and functions the fire
service carries out.
“The exercises were incredibly
interesting. It definitely gave me
an insight into what firefighters
face.
“Getting inside the breathing
apparatus was claustrophobic
and it wasn’t easy trying to
navigate stairs, particularly in
complete darkness.”
Councillor Val Burgoyne the
Mayoress of Salford added:
“There’s a lot more to a
firefighter’s role than putting fires
out and rescuing people from
burning buildings. Speaking to
some of the crew members made
me realise the whole range of
scenarios they often face.”
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
ROADSHOW
THIS year’s annual internal health
and wellbeing road shows took
place in July.
The main focus this year was
employee wellbeing, covering all
aspects of health improvement,
promotion and education in a bid
to keep our staff fit, well and at
work.
LIONS CLUB SUPPORTS FIRE
CHARITIES
FIREFIGHTER Karl Sorfleet
attended a presentation at Bury
Lions Club where he accepted
two cheques on behalf of the
Service for The Fire Fighters
Charity and Operation Florian
The Bury Lions Club is a charity
that was formed in 1967 and
created by local business people
and friends to raise funds to
support many worthy causes in
Bury.
Karl said: “It’s the first time that
The Fire Fighters Charity has
received a donation from Bury
Lions and their gift will be put to
good use, helping fire and rescue
service workers to recover from
injury or illness.”
tAKINGCAREOFStAFF
There was an opportunity for
colleagues to take advantage of a
range of free taster sessions,
advice from a number of health
professionals and health
screenings from our occupational
health provider.
The Laughter Therapy was well
received, providing people with an
understanding of how laughter
can boost the immune system
and reduce stress levels.
MAyORS‘ENLIGHtENED’ByDAyASFIREFIGHtERS
51
STAFF AWARDED FOR LONG
SERVICE
FOURTEEN staff who collectively
served the community for more
than 300 years, were recognised
at a special event.
The Long Service and Good
Conduct Award ceremony took
place at the Training and
Development Centre, honouring
staff with more than 20 years
service.
also has a Long Service award
that is presented to nonoperational members of staff.
Along with the Long Service
awards, the recent celebration
event marked other successes in
the Service.
Awards from the Institution of Fire
Engineers were presented to 16
members of staff who passed the
IFE examinations at Levels, 2, 3
and 4 and Station Manager Jon
Aspinall who received an
Engineering Technician
qualification.
The University of Central
Lancashire awarded first class
honours degrees to Station
Manager Gary Hutchinson, Watch
Manager David Lenagan and
Watch Manager Lee Smart who
each completed 4 years of part
time study to earn their degrees in
Fire Engineering.
LONGSERvICEAWARDS
In total, 11 operational staff and
three support staff received
awards – two of them, Alison
Bullough and Cath Palmer, for
completing a staggering 40 years
service each.
The Fire and Rescue Service
Long Service and Good Conduct
Medal is awarded on behalf of
Her Majesty the Queen to
operational staff who have
'rendered long and meritorious
service' as part of Fire Services
across the UK. The Fire Authority
52
The event brought the uniformed
members from Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue
Service and their families together
with support staff colleagues and
their families for a ceremony led
by County Fire Officer Steve
McGuirk, Chairman of the Fire
Authority, Councillor David Acton
and Deputy Lieutenant of Greater
Manchester Christian Wewer.
Councillor David Acton said: "This
is an evening to celebrate and say
thanks to those who have loyally
served the fire service for 20 years
or more.”
CHARITY SAYS THANKS
IN THE past year staff at GMFRS
have raised an impressive
£212,675 for The Fire Fighters
Charity, with nearly a quarter of
the total amount coming from the
September 2010 and March 2011
National Car Wash Events.
To mark the achievement, Cath
Palmer, Sports and Welfare,
presented a Certificate of
Appreciation to DCFO Jim Owen
on behalf of The Fire Fighters
Charity. Also present were just a
few members of staff whose
fundraising efforts contributed to
the total raised.
John Parry, Chief Executive of The
Fire Fighters Charity, said: “On
behalf of the beneficiaries and the
Charity, I would like to thank you
all for your continued support and
congratulate those people who
actively support the Charity in
GMFRS.”
GMFRSRECOGNISEDFORFUNDRAISINGEFFORtS
STAGED TRAIN CRASH AT
PICCADILLY
PICCADILLy Train Station in
Manchester was the scene of a
staged training exercise to help
teach emergency services how to
respond in a real-life railway crash
scenario.
The multi-agency exercise
involved around 125 volunteers
and representatives from all the
emergency services, including
observers from the railways. To
make the training as realistic as
possible, all the representatives
from the emergency services
were given separate health and
safety briefs prior to arriving at the
scene – this meant that their
responses were as realistic as
possible.
On their arrival they were faced
with the derailment of one
passenger train and a car
straddled across the railway line
adjacent to platform one, resting
in front of a passenger train. With
125 live casualties, all suffering
varying degrees of injury and
degrees of entrapment, the
emergency services stepped into
action.
The initial fire crews attending
quickly got to work in prioritising
tasks and formulating a tactical
plan to release all persons
trapped on the passenger train.
Close liaison with North West
Ambulance Service Hazardous
Area Response Team Network
Rail staff, British Transport Police
and various train operating
companies ensured all
passengers were safely removed
from the derailed train in a timely
manner – with all 125 passengers
successfully released within three
hours.
With eight months in the planning,
the exercise was extremely
successful, with everyone
involved learning and taking
something from it.
hand how we manage and
implement all aspects of our
training.
After a brief tour, the visitors
observed some of the training that
was taking place. They were very
interested in the way training and
development is an integral part of
how we operate, from initial
recruitment right through to our
promotions process.
The learning outcomes for all
partner agencies were highlighted
and will be fed back into each
organisation’s standard
operational procedures for dealing
with railway incidents.
The live exercise was physically
demanding and extremely
challenging for all agencies taking
part, but the experience gained
will definitely prove invaluable
should a real derailment incident
occur within Greater Manchester.
ROMANIAN VISITORS LEARN
FROM US
VISITORS from Romania
extended their visit to the Training
and Development Centre after
being extremely impressed with
our facilities.
Inspector General Marcel Lucaciu
and Commander of National
Training Academy, for the General
Inspectorate for Emergency
Situations in Romania, Felix Catea,
visited in September to learn first-
StAtIONMANAGERJIMO’ByRNEANDtHE
ROMANIANvISItORS
The highlight of the visit was how
amazed they were with our new
Incident Command suite, as well
as the way we implement and
manage an incident.
The visit was such a huge
success that talks are already
taking place to discuss how our
processes could be implemented
throughout the whole of Romania
- we’ll keep you posted on how
this progresses.
53
FURTHER INVESTMENT
ENHANCES OUR TRAINING
AND DEVELOPMENT
FACILITIES
SIGNIFICANT investment in our
practical operational facilities
continues with planning
applications for a Multi-Rig facility
located at our Training and
Development Centre (TDC) and a
further Breathing Apparatus
search and rescue facility located
in Leigh.
The TDC delivery team are
currently working with a selected
provider on the final design detail
to ensure we secure the best
product to support us in providing
the best possible training
outcomes for the future.
Following on from –and in support
of – the new Incident Command
suite, a further investment is also
taking place to provide additional
practical incident command
facilities at three further sites –
these will provide us with a wide
range of simulated incident
command opportunities.
The sites at TDC, Leigh and
Oldham, which will be ready for
use by the end of year, will allow
supervisory and tactical
commanders the opportunity to
deal with a wide range of
simulated incidents under
assessment conditions.
HOtFIREtRAININGAtOLDHAM
54
Volunteers
CAT STAFF AWARENESS DAY
THE Community Action Team
(CAT) took up a new challenge
recently, when they joined Green
Watch Wigan for a firefighter
awareness day. The CAT are
mostly made up of volunteers.
The Watch showed them the skills
needed to be a firefighter and
provided them with information
that might be useful to them when
talking to people about fire safety
in the future.
Bev Brindle, Wigan CAT
coordinator, organised the event
with Green Watch Wigan for all
new starters of the team from
around GMFRS.
A recent recruitment campaign
resulted in 21 new starters to the
CAT staff in Wigan Borough.
ROTARY FIRE SERVICE
VOLUNTEERS APPLAUDED
The Chief Fire Officer and Chief
Executive of Greater Manchester
Fire and Rescue Service was the
guest at a dinner held by The
Rotary Club of Gatley and District
to commemorate their
achievement at winning a
‘Significant Achievement Award’“
from the President of Rotary
International for their work in the
Community Action Team of the
Fire Service.
Six of their members formed the
team in 2010 and, having been
trained by the Fire Service, they
visit homes in the Greater
Manchester area and give advice
and guidance on Home Fire Risk
Assessments. As required, they
also fix smoke alarms. Since
being formed they have now
visited over 400 homes.
Because of their success, other
teams have now been formed by
Rotary Clubs in Altrincham,,
Bramhall and Woodford,
Stockport Lamplighter, Marple
and Goyt Valley, and Cheadle,
with a total of 25 Rotarians having
been trained. These teams are
now visiting their communities
and in the coming months will
also be seen at various retail
outlets obtaining names of people
who wish to have a risk
assessment undertaken.
Members of these teams were
present at the dinner and heard
The Chief Fire Officer give his
thanks to them all for the service
they are providing to the
community. He said that they are
part of the prevention policy of the
Fire Service and as such they are
making a major contribution to
the safety of households. He
looked forward to this partnership
being extended and that it proves
that the service to the community
spirit is very evident in the Rotary
organisation.
At the dinner, Derek Newman,
District Governor Nominee, also
congratulated all of the volunteers
in their work in this community
project and how the Significant
Achievement award was highly
deserved.
Also present at the dinner were
Stockport Borough Commander,
Bill Harrop, Trafford Borough
Commander, Andy Dugdale, and
Aimee Chisnell, a Community
Action Team Coordinator.
If members of the public would
like a visit from the Fire Service
then they are asked to phone
0800 555 815.
55
Children and Young People
CADETS COMPETE IN
SLOVENIA
A TEAM of cadets from GMFRS
travelled to Slovenia to represent
the UK in the International Cadet
Competition.
The group qualified following their
performance at the Fire Services
youth Training Association
National Camp, alongside a cadet
unit from West Midlands Fire and
Rescue Service.
The team of young people from
Farnworth and Ramsbottom
Cadets flew out to Slovenia in
July.
CADEtSvISItSLOvENIA
GMFRS Community Fire Cadets
have represented the United
Kingdom since 1999. In the last
six years the Cadets have
competed in international
competitions in France, Finland,
Austria, Croatia, Sweden and
Czech Republic.
56
Through involvement in these
competitions, GMFRS Community
Fire Cadets and Volunteer
Instructors have taken the
opportunity to not only showcase
their skills on an international
stage but also to further develop
and share good practice with
cadet units from across the world.
BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT
A FORMER Royal Guard who
would watch guests enjoying
events at Buckingham Palace
was thrilled to be invited back as
a representative of GMFRS.
PRINCE’S TRUST
PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES
TO PAY DIVIDENDS
GMFRS has received welcome
praise after providing 24-year-old
Karl White with a four-day work
experience placement in July.
During his time at GMFRS, Karl
took part in various activities
including, a day in Emergency
Control at Fire Service
Headquarters, a day at Blackley
Fire Station and two days with
Community Fire Safety.
Firefighter John Duff took his wife
to the Queen’s Garden Party after
being put forward because of the
work he does with our Children
and young People team, in
particular youth development and
Crucial Crew.
John said: “The first I knew about
the invitation was when Borough
Commander Ian Bailey rang to tell
me I’d been nominated. When he
rang me again to tell me I was
actually going I was gob smacked
– actually that’s an
understatement. I was absolutely
over the moon. For me it was a
magical moment. I used to be in
the Guards and actually worked
at Buckingham Palace, so to see
things from a different perspective
was a dream come true.”
(LEFttORIGHt)LISACANNING,KARLWHItE,GERARD
BASSONANDJANICERAINFORD
Following his experience, Karl
said: “I have always wanted to be
a firefighter but, since having the
opportunity to see the different
things that are involved and
meeting the people who work
there, I now check on the Fire
Service website for any jobs that
may come up in the future. I know
that working in the Service is
something I definitely want to do.”
Jessica Hall, assistant team
leader at the Prince’s Trust,
commented: “I am very pleased
with the work that has been put in
and the time taken to help in
every aspect of our 12-week
programme by Blue Watch in
Control, Blackley Fire Station Red
Watch and Community Fire
Safety, Manchester Borough.
“They are always more than
happy to help in anyway when
supporting our team at East
Manchester and have shown
great effort when working with us.
This is something that I feel is
growing and becoming a positive
move with our East Manchester
Team.”
Principal Fire Control Officer, Liz
Drummond, said: “People on the
Prince’s Trust work experience
programme are always welcome
in Control and it is a pleasure to
enhance their knowledge of the
service we provide and that
provided by operational crews.”
CADEtSAtFARNWORtHFIREStAtION
57
Other Articles of Interest
NEW FIRE AUTHORITY
CHAIRMAN APPOINTED
COUNCILLOR David Acton was
appointed the new Chairman of
Rescue Authority in September
and took the helm supported by
Vice-Chairman Councillor Henry
Cooper.
Cllr Acton has been a member of
the Fire Authority since 2008 and
is a councillor for Trafford
Metropolitan Borough Council,
where he served as leader from
1997-2004 and is currently leader
of the Labour Group.
as together we strive to maintain
and in some areas improve, the
service that we deliver to our
communities.”
Cllr Tommy Judge (Manchester
Member) has replaced Cllr Acton
as Chair of the Emergency
Response Committee for the
remainder of the 2011/12
municipal year.
KEITH USES CPR TO SAVE
WAR VETERAN
OFF-duty Watch Manager, Keith
Richmond, proved saving lives
really is all in a day’s work when
he helped a war hero survive a
heart attack.
Keith was shopping in Oldham
Town Centre when the 53-yearold war veteran, who had served
in the Falklands and was
collecting for the Veterans in
Action (VIA) charity, collapsed with
a massive heart attack.
CFOStEvEMCGUIRKWELCOMESNEWAUtHORIty
CHAIRMAN,CLLRDAvIDACtON
Keith immediately help out and,
along with another member of the
VIA team, worked on keeping the
man alive.
Welcoming the Chairman, County
Fire Officer Steve McGuirk
acknowledged the challenges and
opportunities that the Fire
Authority is facing. He said: "We
have always worked closely with
our elected members and this
strong relationship will be critical
He said: “I kept wishing that I had
done more recent training, but
thankfully the skills I acquired
when I was operational still
worked. While waiting for the
ambulance, the man stopped
breathing twice but each time we
were able to revive him.”
58
Once the paramedics arrived they
used a defibrillator while Keith
continued with compressions.
The man was still breathing, but in
the ambulance had to be revived
once more before being taken to
hospital. The veteran is recovering
in hospital on the Wirral,
Merseyside.
OFF DUTY GLYN HELPS SAVE
A LIFE
HEyWOOD firefighter Glyn Purdie
was heading home after a busy
night when he became embroiled
in a life saving emergency.
He discovered a cyclist, believed
to be in his late 30s, had collided
with a van and suffered head
injuries.
Glyn immediately stopped to help
– keeping an eye on the cyclist’s
airways and breathing and tried to
stem the bleeding from his head
wound. A nurse also went to help
when a bystander knocked on her
door and asked for a towel. Glyn
and the nurse attended to the
casualty and kept him stable until
the ambulance crew arrived
minutes later
Glyn said: “In our job you are
there to help and you just get on
with it. It’s not being big or brave.
The nurse and I were in the right
place and we did what we are
trained to do.”
KATE SAVES STAB VICTIM
FIREFIGHTER Kate Lonsdale‘s
night out in Bolton turned to
horror when she came across the
victim of a brutal knife attack lying
on the ground.
The 34-year-old man was
bleeding heavily from his chest,
neck and legs and it was clear
that his injuries could be life
threatening.
Using skills she had learned in her
day job, Kate, along with two
passers-by, managed to stem the
bleeding enough to keep the man
alive until the ambulance arrived.
Kate, a firefighter at Heywood fire
station, said: “It was horrific. I’ve
seen a lot of injuries, but this was
vicious. He had a wound in his
chest and I was worried he might
have a punctured lung. I am not
the kind of person who would
stand by and watch someone die,
so I did what I could. The two
men that helped to save him were
awesome.”
Thanks to Kate and the two men
who assisted, the stab victim is
now recovering in hospital. A 30year-old woman has been
arrested by police in connection
with the stabbing.
KAtELONSDALE
59

Activity Report A4 - Fire Authority

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