West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service News

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (WSFRS) has gone live with the latest major release of Infographics’ Web and Mobile App-delivered FireWatch fire service management software. FireWatch provides WSFRS with a single integrated platform covering HR, Training and Development, Availability & Workforce Planning, Asset Management, and other areas. With this latest rollout, the service has transformed employee interactions with FireWatch into a re-designed, modern, graphically and KPI-dr...

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has been awarded a grant from the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund. This is a new funding pot encouraging the creation of a UK regulatory environment that supports innovation and growth. Teaming up with the National Fire Chiefs Council, the University of Northampton, and Eyecademy Ltd, the West Sussex-led project will deliver a new web-based fire risk assessment tool. The interactive tool will improve users' understanding of fire safety. fire risk assessment...

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service will be joining other fire and rescue services across the UK in promoting business fire safety this week. Business Fire Safety Week runs from 9-15 September and aims to provide businesses with information and advice to reduce the number of fire incidents and false alarms in the workplace, both of which impact business safety and productivity. Protecting Businesses From Arson Statistics show that in 2017-18 there were 19,033 fires in UK businesses with abo...

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton has officially taken up her new role of Chief Fire Officer with West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service this morning. Sabrina said she was “absolutely delighted” to be taking on the job. She has nearly two decades of fire service experience, having most recently served as Interim Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Surrey Fire & Rescue Service. She said: "I am absolutely delighted to be here at West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, and I am very much looking forw...

Firefighters in Chichester would like to thank residents for their quick thinking after a fire in a property on Thursday afternoon. Crews from Chichester, Bognor Regis and Selsey were mobilized to the incident on Lennox Road, Chichester, at 3.37pm following reports of a fire in a residential flat, with the first crew from Chichester arriving on scene within five minutes. Upon arrival they found smoke issuing from a window of the property. Rescuing an adult male from the property trapped by fire...

Dr. Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is to join West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service as its new Chief Fire Officer. Dr. Cohen-Hatton joins the service with 18 years of fire service experience including senior roles in London Fire Brigade, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Welsh Government and most recently as Interim Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Surrey Fire and Rescue Service. She has helped shape national fire service policy and practice during her government secondments at Her Majesty Inspectorate of...

Infographics announced a joint collaboration between West Sussex and Surrey Fire and Rescue as part of their move to a fully managed Cloud delivery and maintenance model, with FireWatch on the Microsoft Azure platform. The new FireWatch Cloud solution, underpinned by Microsoft Azure, will provide them with flexible and remote access to their FireWatch fire service management system, including full management and upgrades. It will also deliver a live integration with Surrey and West Sussex Fire...

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has welcomed nine new retained (on-call) firefighters to its ranks following an intensive two week training program. Having been put through their paces in the yard at Worthing Fire Station they welcomed family and friends to a Pass Out Parade on Friday, June 21. They will now join the crews at a number of fire stations across the county to provide on-call support. Many of the new recruits have full-time jobs elsewhere in their communities. Living or workin...

West Sussex firefighters are being praised by the mother of a young girl, who they have been helping to overcome a fear of the sound of smoke alarms. Seven-year-old Elsie Williams alerted her mum Felicity to a fire in their Haywards Heath home in November 2017 when their smoke alarm went off. Crews from Haywards Heath Fire Station attended and extinguished the fire, but since then Elsie has been afraid of the noise of the alarm. After Felicity got in touch with the crew, they invited her and El...

The latest set of students taking part in West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s FireBreak programme have graduated at Horsham Fire Station. A Pass Out Parade took place on Friday afternoon (22 March), watched on by the family and friends of the graduates. The eleven students have completed a week of training, which has included hose running, ladder climbs and wearing breathing apparatus. They have also learned about fire safety, CPR and have gained a HeartStart first aid training qualif...

The challenge was undertaken to raise money for the Fire Fighters Charity and Operation Florian West Sussex FRS Chief Fire Officer Sean Ruth and Deputy Fire Officer Lee Neale recently undertook a charity cycle challenge visiting every fire station in the county over two days to raise as much money as possible for the Fire Fighters Charity and Operation Florian; two vital charities providing an invaluable source of help and support to firefighters, both at home and abroad. The...