Avon Fire and Rescue Service News

Infographics is pleased to announce that Avon Fire and Rescue Service has launched a new FireWatch-driven technology innovation program, targeting greater flexibility, resilience, and increased visibility of resources.  The program’s first phase has gone live and covers migrating from the FRS’s current on-premise system to the FireWatch Cloud. integrated cloud-hosted system Avon FRS manage their HR, wholetime availability and rostering, retained payments, and training and dev...

The Fleur Lombard Bursary aims to advance the education of junior members of the fire and rescue service, by the grant of bursaries to enable them to travel and study fire and rescue service-related issues at other fire and rescue services elsewhere in the UK, Europe, or worldwide. If interested in finding out more about an issue affecting fire and rescue service or want to improve the understanding of fire and rescue service issues, may be interested in applying for the bursary. Members o...

MSA Safety Incorporated, a pioneer in firefighter safety equipment and technology, opens a newly expanded, state-of-the-art facility for producing firefighter protective apparel in Yate, near Bristol, UK. The modernized facility provides new and enhanced work areas for MSA associates, as well as much-needed space for future growth and international expansion. Celebrated this morning with a ribbon-cutting event, the building establishes MSA Bristol’s Yate campus as a global center of excel...

A science museum located in Bristol city center, in Bristol, United Kingdom (UK) was evacuated, after its roof caught fire. Avon Fire and Rescue Service were called to We The Curious in Millennium Square, Bristol, at about 14:00 on Saturday 9 April. All visitors to the museum were evacuated safely from the building. joint investigation Around 35 firefighters in five fire engines responded to the call and extinguished the fire. A joint investigation between Avon F&RS and the police is bein...

More than half a million COVID-19 vaccinations have been given by fire and rescue services staff, according to a report by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). As reported, the figure as of now is at 510,540 – a testament to the hard work from all involved, and will only increase as fire services continue their efforts to support the national program. Additional vaccination sites It is estimated up to 2,500 members of staff are supporting this vital work to get everyone eligible pro...

Within just 48 hours of the government announcing the acceleration of the national vaccination program, fire and rescue services are already supporting the effort and have vaccinated hundreds of people.   Almost half a million vaccinations have been given by fire and rescue service staff this year – and this figure is set to rocket in the coming days as more services will be administering the boosters. Up to 2,500 fire and rescue services, staff could assi...

Royal Berkshire Fire Authority has donated a vehicle and a range of firefighting equipment to a charity partnership that works to assist the emergency response of The Gambia Fire and Ambulance Service. The Gambia and Avon Fire Services in Partnership (GAFSIP) is a charitable trust between Avon Fire and Rescue Service and The Gambia Fire and Ambulance Service, which has been in existence since 1991. The GAFSIP partnership aims to preserve and protect health in The Gambia by enabling a life-savin...

National Drowning Prevention Week has started, which will see Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AF&RS) focus on helping people stay safe around water in line with the Government’s guidance and restrictions that remain in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The dedicated week of action runs from April 20 to April 26 and is led by the National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC) and supported by fire and rescue services all over the UK. During the week messages will be shared on AF&R...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) warns against deliberate fires after several callouts since lockdown began.    Despite the current government guidance on staying at home to help alleviate the Coronavirus pandemic, AF&RS continues to be called to mindless cases of arson that put both crews and the community in danger.  Since the start of the government’s stay at home directive on Monday 23rd March, crews have attended 58 deliberate fires across...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AFRS) is changing how it responds to Automatic Fire Alarm signals to reduce its response to unnecessary false alarms. From the 1st April 2020, the new procedure will be introduced and will mean the automatic response to some alarms will be removed. This change follows the implementation of the Service Plan (2019-2022) to ensure that the AF&RS is better able to match resource to risk and ensure public safety. In 2018/19 alone, AF&RS attended over 5,700 cal...

The redevelopment of Avonmouth fire station on St Andrew’s Road will help improve response, operational efficiency and prevention work for both staff and our community. This development will provide a cost-effective, modern and fit for purpose facility that allows AF&RS to match resource to risk and make our Communities Safer and Service Stronger. The new station, which is being built by contractors Knights Brown, will feature five new appliance bays, office and accommodation faciliti...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) and Avon and Somerset Police (ASP) are aiming to make Thornbury a better place to live and work by taking part in Makaton training. The two Services spent Monday evening (27/01) learning Makaton, a basic form of sign language that uses facial expressions and symbols, in the hope of making Thornbury more welcoming. Everyone involved recognises that being able to communicate is one of the most important skills in life, and even more so when it comes to e...

Chief Fire Officer Mick Crennell and a GAFSIP team have delivered three fire engines and other equipment and uniform to the Gambian Fire Service. As part of the Gambia and Avon Fire Services in Partnership (GAFSIP), the service has been helping to enhance the capabilities of the Gambian fire service for nearly 30 years by providing lifesaving equipment, capability and training. Fire engines and breathing apparatus Avon Fire & Rescue Service has donated three fire engines along with breath...

Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AF&RS) has taken part in a series of multi-agency training exercises to tests its chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear response. The three training sessions, which fell under CBRNe, were designed to test how emergency services from across the region responded to incidents such as chemical spills and contamination. Training exercises These scenarios involved staff from Avon and Somerset Police, South Western Ambulance Service, Devon & Somerset Fire...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) joined with charity Catch22 to inspire young males by providing them with positive role models and a Fire Safety Course. As part of the partnership, seven teenagers aged from 14 - 16 spent six weeks with firefighters from Temple fire station developing their skills and experience. Throughout their weekly two hour courses at the station, they covered everything from breathing apparatus, hose use, road traffic collision management and first aid, providin...

Bristol Bears and Bath Rugby have put their local rivalry aside to support Avon Fire & Rescue Service’s (AF&RS) new water safety campaign - #MatesMatter. The move comes as AF&RS hopes to half the number of water fatalities in the Service area by 2026. More than 260 people died in British waterways last year, more than those who died in fires, and the Service has been called to 66 water-related incidents in the last two years, with six fatalities. To tackle this, AF&RS are...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) will be encouraging people to consider a new career when it opens applications for new Control Staff this month. Aspiring Firefighter Control will be able to start the application process from early October 21st as the service looks for the brightest and best to take part in a training school in February 2020. The successful candidates will provide a vital service to the community by dealing with 999 calls ranging from house fires to serious road traff...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is asking businesses and residents to pledge to lose the wedge this Fire Door Safety week (23-29 Sept). Launching the campaign, the service is asking all businesses, care homes and residential properties to ditch door wedges that prop open fire doors. As part of the awareness week, now in its seventh year, staff from across AF&RS will be targeting businesses and homes within the service area to highlight the importance of fire doors and the differen...

Hicks Gate Fire Station will be throwing its doors open to the public this Saturday (17/08), showcasing Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) and how firefighters keep local communities safe. From 10am to 4pm, the open day will focus on the national resilience capabilities that ensure community safety through location extraction and stabilization in structural collapse. Staff will also demonstrate risk reduction and how everyone can play a part in making safety a key part of their daily lives throug...

Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AF&RS) is delighted to announce that one of its stations has won a national energy reduction competition. Fire and Rescue Services from across the country took part in the energy-saving competition to reduce energy consumption over a four-month period throughout the winter, with Avonmouth fire station topping the leaderboard. The competition involved 66 fire stations from Avon, Essex, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire, London and Scotland. Avonmouth fire statio...

People living and working in Clevedon are being invited to give something positive back to the community by becoming on-call firefighters. Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is looking to recruit five new on-call staff to help provide cover from the station in Clevedon. On-call firefighters use the same fire engines and equipment as their ‘wholetime’ (full-time) colleagues. The main difference is that on-call firefighters provide support from their home or workplace, rather...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AFR&S) recruits a special crew of trauma teddies thanks to a local organization. The 200-strong-crew will be spread out across the Service to ride on trucks alongside firefighters and specialist equipment. The cuddly crew will then be handed out to children involved in traumatic and upsetting incidents who are distressed or in need of reassurance and emotional support. Small Act Of Comfort This gives us an opportunity to engage with children and lessen the...

Avon Fire & Recuse Service (AF&RS) joined with an international charity to help inspire children affected by the Chernobyl disaster. As part of the partnership, nine boys and eight girls from the Belarusian town of Osipovichi visited staff and firefighters at Temple fire station for a day of respite, games and engagement. Throughout the day on station, the group of 11-year-olds had a go at spraying the hose, trying on kit and were shown around the station and fire trucks. Providing Wel...

This year saw fire and rescue teams from across the UK competing in the West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) Extrication and Trauma Challenges, which was held for the second year running at the Emergency Services Show, NEC, Birmingham. The two-day event which is split into trauma scenarios and extrication scenarios tested firefighters skills at first aid and trauma care, road traffic accident extrication, casualty care and more. As always, a high standard of skills was demonstrated by all the team...

All the money raised during the run will go to military veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder On Tuesday 30th May, 2017, firefighter Terrance Gregg who is based at York fire station and Watch Manager Justin Rowe who is based at Malton fire station will set off from York fire station and run 296 miles, to North Devon, over a number of days. They are planning to arrive on Saturday 11th June at Royal Marine Base, Chivenor, North Devon, the home of Justin’s old regim...

Bristol to supply 1700 sets of fire coats and trousers, as well as helmets, gloves and boots Following a strategic decision by the Fire & Rescue Authority in late 2010 to adopt the ICP procurement facility, Avon FRS began the move to Bristol as its new PPE supplier for its 800 firefighters. This is now being completed through the deployment of a purchase managed service (PMS) head-to-toe ICP contract involving the supply of 1700 sets of fire coats and trousers along with h...