Kent Fire & Rescue Service News

The official awards of publications Fire Safety Matters and Security Matters, the "FSM Awards," took place yesterday evening at the Coventry Building Society Arena. Established to promote innovation and the highest standards of excellence, NSI approved companies were well-represented among the finalists and winners. NSI congratulates all the winners and finalists among whom 10 NSI approved companies were shortlisted as finalists with 28 nominations between them, of whom six took home the top pr...

The National Collaborative PPE Framework is celebrating five years of success in delivering high-quality PPE to Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) across the UK. Launched in June 2017 to streamline the PPE procurement process, the scheme has since delivered protective clothing to around two-thirds of FRSs across the country, equating to more than 30,000 firefighters. Created with a view to sharing best practices and delivering efficiencies, the National Framework is managed by the National Fire Ch...

This World Drowning Prevention Day (25 July), Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is urging Kent and Medway residents to respect the water. In the UK, drowning is a cause of accidental death and statistics have shown that drowning deaths are increasing, with more lives lost in inland water, than on the coast. KFRS has specialist water safety teams with crews always ready to respond to inland water rescues, where people are in trouble in lakes and rivers. Water rescue experts With a number of...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is proud to announce the Queen has recognized Paul Grimwood, a KFRS Senior Principal Fire Engineer, in the 2022 Birthday Honors List. Paul, who has a career spanning over 50 years in firefighting and fire engineering, has been awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire). High-Rise buildings He is highly regarded within the fire industry as an expert and pioneer for new operational tactics, as well as for his meticulous work when it comes to ensuring resi...

A safety warning on the use of lithium-ion batteries is being issued by Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) following several battery related fires this month. A safety warning on the use of lithium-ion batteries is being issued by Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) following several battery related fires this month. Lithium-ion batteries, or li-ion batteries (sometimes called LIBs) are commonly found in many items including mobile phones, laptops, e-bikes, hover boards, vaping devices and sco...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has been awarded for its innovative work in embedding a customer-centric culture throughout the organisation - tailoring services for everyone in the county to help keep them safe. Customer-Centric culture The accolade of achieving bronze in the Customer Focus category of the iESE Public Sector Transformation Awards on 9 March, acts as a springboard for KFRS as it embarks on a pioneering project to really get to know the people it serves. The insight gather...

More than 200 emergency service staff at Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) came together on Wednesday 2 February for a virtual session to learn and share emotional personal experiences around inclusivity and diversity. Hosted via Microsoft Teams, the conference included informative and inspirational guest speakers, who each highlighted how everyone can embrace difference and drive positive change in the workplace, as well as in everyday life. Equal and inclusive world The virtual event, run...

Throughout the pandemic, everyone at Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has been proud to support the blue light partners, NHS colleagues, local councils, and community organizations. People from across KFRS have volunteered to offer their services whenever possible, including during the mass roll-out of Covid-19 testing and more recently, vaccinations. In the last week, officers have been helping to collect thousands of vaccines from hospitals across Kent and Medway, and delivering t...

A Sheppey homeowner is helping Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) share life-saving safety advice after a vanity mirror sparked a fire in the bedroom of his home. The blaze developed in the occupant’s bedroom in Belgrave Road on Sheppey, on a sunny afternoon on Friday 16 July, and is believed to have started after sunlight reflected from a vanity mirror onto some bedding. The heat from the mirror's reflection caught the bed alight, which then spread throughout the room within a matter o...

Fire organizations have come together for the first time to create a Core Code of Ethics based on the Nolan Principles that puts supporting communities first. The National Fire Chiefs Council, Local Government Association, and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners have jointly published a Core Code of Ethics that sits alongside a new Fire Standard. This is in response to one of the recommendations made by Sir Tom Winsor in his State of Fire and Rescue reports. The Fire Minister, Lo...

During the outbreak of COVID-19 Hunter Apparel Solutions Limited (Hunter) had the privilege to work in partnership with Kent and Medway Towns Fire Authority, as National leads for PPE and Clothing within the fire sector and the UK Government to co-ordinate, source, manufacture, and supply vital PPE to the frontline emergency services and health sectors as part of what has now become the UK National Framework for Fire and public sector organizations and other parts of the UK’s critical infr...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is on a mission to encourage the people of Kent and Medway to help keep hydrants healthy in their local area. Located all over the county, fire hydrants provide firefighters with access to a steady flow of water to fight fires. They are used by crews whenever they need more water than they’re able to carry on fire engines, and can be a vital asset for firefighters. However, if they’re ever damaged or obscured, it could waste valuable minutes for c...

Former Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) Director of Operations - Sean Bone-Knell and current Head of Procurement at KFRS, Tina Butler, have been recognized in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Sean Bone-Knell, who retired from KFRS in March 2020, after 33 years of service, has been awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal – a prestigious medal given to members of the fire services in the UK and Commonwealth for distinguished services or gallantry. Steering national pol...

Firefighters across Cornwall are wearing brand new PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), procured through the UK Collaborative PPE Framework.  All 560 firefighters in the county have been equipped with two sets of new gold-colored structural coats and trousers, along with flash hoods, and a set of both structural and rescue gloves. Structural PPE The new PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), designed and manufactured by Bristol Uniforms, benefits from the very latest in fiber and fabric tec...

The award is given to both a number of companies and public services that are able to show their outstanding support towards the Armed Forces community. KFRS has been awarded a bronze and silver award in the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERG) in previous years, but this is the first time the service has been awarded the gold recognition. To win an award, organizations must demonstrate that they provide additional paid leave for reservists and have other supportive HR policies in place for veter...

The FIA assisted the National Fire Commercial Transformation Programme (NFCTP) that is led by Kent’s Chief Fire Officer Ann Millington by engaging the members and asking them to leverage their contacts in wider industry sectors to source PPE such as gloves, masks as well as hand sanitizer. The FIA ensured that all suggested suppliers had evidence to prove that they were compliant with the appropriate standards as defined by the technical due diligence process outlined by Kent Fire and Resc...

Thirty-three Fire and Rescue Services (FRS), comprising over 33,500 firefighters, are now benefiting from the Local Authority Collaborative PPE Framework. Launched three years ago in June 2017, the Framework gives UK FRSs access to high quality PPE ensembles and volume discounts through a streamlined procurement process. The Framework was set up in response to calls from government and the industry for FRSs to work together to share best practice and deliver efficiencies. It is run by Kent FRS,...

An official passing out parade to welcome ten new wholetime firefighters to Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) took place at Rochester Fire Station. Attended by family and friends of the trainees, the occasion was held to welcome the firefighters and showcase their newly honed skills. Chosen from over 5,000 applicants, the trainees have just completed 15 weeks of intense training designed to equip them with the necessary skills and techniques required to become a firefighter. In order to reach...

The undergrowth fire on the Lydd Ranges is now fully extinguished after three days of firefighting. On July 26, 2019, the emergency phase of the incident led by Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) officially came to a close after all firefighting operations were completed. Duty of care has now been handed back to the land owner. Lee Rose, Assistant Director Channel Tunnel and Resilience at KFRS, said: “On behalf of the service and all other agencies that have been involved throughout the...

Firefighters have issued a summer heat safety plea following several incidents cornfields, grass and crop fires in Kent that have been linked to the hot and dry weather the county is currently experiencing. Countering wildfire incidents Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) deals frequently with rural fires, but during periods of hot and dry weather, incidents on grassland have the potential to become much bigger wildfires. Last year (2018), KFRS responded to almost 700 grassfires, and so far, t...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is working with Kent Police as part of their ongoing mission to increase the use and awareness of Public Access Defibrillators (PADs). Public Access Defibrillators Kent’s emergency services already work together on a daily basis to help save lives and keep communities safe, but KFRS has now also gifted thirty defibrillators to Kent Police to help increase public access to PADs around the county.  We have since teamed with Kent Police and gifted t...

BAFSA collaborating with Kent Fire & Rescue Service have published the program for their free-to-attend, one day seminar to be held on Wednesday 18th September in Rochester. High rise protection, post Grenfell and also a presentation on stairwell protection in multi storey buildings will open the event followed a focus on sprinklers in schools and automatic fire protection of recycling sites. Road Safety Experience Following lunch and a sprinkler demonstration there two presentations focu...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) as a member of the Safer Roads for Kent group, is on a mission to make the county’s roads safer. Over the last three years, firefighters have dealt with more than 3,350 crashes, many of which have involved vehicle cutting to free people trapped inside. Sadly a number of crashes have resulted in people dying or sustaining life-changing injuries, which also impact the lives of their families and friends. ‘Drive’ To Empower In a bid to reduce...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s (KFRS) very own canine crew member Buzz, is now well on his way to becoming a fully operational search dog within the technical rescue team. The cocker spaniel started his basic training with the Technical Rescue team when he was just six months old. Now, 12 months on, and thanks to the dedication of his handler Andy Parks, Buzz is making excellent progress with his training schedule. Buzz-eye-view camera During a recent three-day UK training exercise held...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is proud to welcome a new group of whole-time firefighters to a number of Kent stations this month. Chosen from over 5,000 applicants, the group of 24 men and women have now officially joined fire crews at a number of stations around the county. An official passing out parade to mark the occasion for recruit course 181 was recently held at Rochester Fire Station, and was attended by the firefighters’ family and friends. 16-Week intensive training cours...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is effective, efficient and looks after its people. Following an independent inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), the service has been awarded ‘good’ in all three areas in the first review of its kind. And as a result, Kent has emerged as one of the top performing services in the country, of those assessed so far as part of a rolling program to inspect all 45 fire and rescue services...

Former Watch Manager Malcolm Cowie, believed to be the UK’s longest serving operational whole-time firefighter, has been recognized in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List. The 65-year-old, who hung up his helmet with Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) last year after joining at 16 and dedicating nearly 50 years of his life to the service, has received the Queen's Fire Service Medal. KFRS Chief Executive Ann Millington said: “This is an outstanding achievement for Malcolm and is...

Firefighters have issued a safety plea to people with braziers, chimineas or fire pits when using them this summer; ‘never leave them unattended’. The warning comes as the warmer months are now here and with a growing trend of people spending the evenings outside in the garden sitting around a fire pit or brazier. Despite their atmospheric and social benefits, they also come with serious risks. One Kent family knows only too well after experiencing the consequences of leaving theirs...

Staff and air ambulance helicopters at Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance headquarters in Chatham are being protected from the risk of fire by a fire safety solution that centres around the new Taktis addressable fire panel from Kentec. The HQ main office building is monitored by the Taktis panel and hard-wired Hochiki detectors, with wireless versions specified to cover the helicopter hangar. Ease of installation Alvin Lewis, Operations Manager at CSG Fire and Security, the company that i...

Firefighters are urging people to never store anything on the kitchen hob – especially if they’re electric – they can easily and accidentally be knocked and become switched on. It comes after two Kent homes experienced fires in the kitchen where items were placed on the hob and by accident, the hob switch was knocked and the ring started to warm up, and before long caused the house to fill with smoke and a fire to start. Safe escape due to smoke detectors The first incident...