West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service News

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service welcomes the commencement of the Fire Safety Act in England and Wales, and the Fire Safety Regulations in England, as important steps forward in improving fire safety. responsible persons The service is also urging responsible persons (RPs) for multi-occupied residential buildings to prepare for legislation that will commence in January 2023. The Act clarifies that RPs for multi-occupied residential buildings must manage and reduce the risk of fir...

As excitement for the extra bank holiday builds, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has issued important advice to ensure everyone enjoys the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee safely. six steps to safety These six steps to safety will help ensure a royally good four-day weekend in commemoration of Her Majesty’s 70-year reign. 1) Do not use sky lanterns (also known as Chinese lanterns) due to the fire hazards and risks they pose to property, crops, animals, and the environment. They are...

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service is making final preparations for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Weekend celebrations, to be held at Halifax Piece Hall, where crews will take part in an Emergency Services Day. emergency vehicles Firefighters from Rastrick, Halifax, Todmorden, and Bradford will be showcasing a fire engine, boat, and wildfire vehicle, while Fire Prevention staff will be on hand to share safety advice. There will also be other emergency vehicles on show, including a...

A total of 640 years of service was celebrated at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Annual Long Service Awards. A group of 30 firefighters and staff were honored for their commitment to keeping their communities safe in a ceremony at the Birkenshaw headquarters in Bradford. badges and certificates Each year, on completion of 20, 30, and 40-years service, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service staff are presented with their badges and certificates by the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yo...

Faatimah Mangera, a volunteer for West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has been named runner-up of the ‘Young Person Role Model Award’ in the Women in the Fire Service Awards 2022. Faatimah, who completed the Prince’s Trust Team program with West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service in 2020, was nominated for the national awards for remarkable contributions to the Fire Service. Young Person Role Model Award The ‘Young Person Role Model Award’ category recogniz...

West Yorkshire Fire Service’s Technical Rescue Officer received an unusual call-out, after sheep grazing in a field behind a row of terraced cottages leaped over a 5ft gap and onto the tiled roof. Arriving in Newmillerdam, near Wakefield where the sheep had been stuck for several hours, before the Fire Service was alerted, Station Commander - Damian Cameron found one of the animals precariously close to a 25ft drop to the ground. sheep safety Then after one sheep leaped, a number of the...

Staff at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service joined fire services around the country and the world, as they gathered to observe International Firefighters Day. A minute’s silence was held at midday as fire service colleagues stood together in recognition of the commitment made by firefighters to keep their communities and local environments as safe as possible. role of firefighters Deputy Chief Firefighter - Dave Walton said, “International Firefighters Memorial Day is a day to...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service welcomed 11 new firefighters on Wednesday 13 April following the organisation’s latest pass-out ceremony at the Birkenshaw headquarters. The ceremony was held following a 14-week intensive firefighter trainee course which teaches skills including rescuing casualties, using firefighting equipment, and working as a team. firefighter trainee course On completion of the course, the graduates become part of a service that serves a population of more tha...

Four firefighters from Castleford Fire Station will retire this year, leaving behind a total of 98 years of combined service. All four of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Castleford White Watch team say they will miss the comradery of their firefighting 'family'. diverse range of experiences After working at Royal Mail, Gavin Hampson moved to Leeds from Norwich to join the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2000. He retired in March after 22 years. When you’re together...

Crews from Cleckheaton Fire Station are enduring a 48-hour physical challenge to raise money for children who need cancer treatment. Staff at the station were moved by the stories of local girls Beau, five, from Liversedge, and Eden, seven, from Holmfirth, whose families have been raising funds to enable them to undergo costly treatment in the USA for neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer. David Goggins Challenge The grueling David Goggins Challenge, named after the American ex-Navy seal...

Residents of West Yorkshire have ten weeks to have their say on the future of the region’s fire service, following the launch of a public consultation. The West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service CRMP (Community Risk Management Plan) consultation will close on 6 June. Called the Fire and Rescue Service 2022-25, the CRMP will detail how West Yorkshire will manage and reduce fire-related risks and other emergencies to protect its communities over the next three years. Eight priority...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has worked with partners, including Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and the National Trust in a day of action focused around wildfire training. With the warm weather forecast this weekend crews and rangers teamed up on moorland near Slaithwaite to test new equipment, swap best practices, and formulate techniques should a moorland fire occur this year. Moorland firefighting equipment We can share techniques and get to grips with the latest stat...

A group of young people has raised funds to renovate a charity community center by selling items made from reclaimed firefighting equipment. The 11 Prince’s Trust students raised more than £500 by making and selling keyrings, coasters, and plant holders from recycled hose parts. They then used the money to renovate The Salvation Army’s community center and shop in Batley, West Yorkshire, as part of their 12-week personal development program with West Yorkshire Fire a...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is joining fire services across the UK in donating items of kit and equipment to Ukraine to support firefighters on the frontline. UK charity, FIRE AID and International Development (FIRE AID), and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) are coordinating donations of more than 5,000 items of fire and rescue equipment and PPE which will be sent in convoy to Ukraine.   West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is sending: 12 pallets of fire kit 12 pallets...

Over the last two weeks, staff at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have followed the upsetting and troubling news coming out of Eastern Europe. Everyone is thinking about the people of Ukraine, and other parts of the world affected by war and conflict. good wishes WYFRS feels a particular bond and affinity with fellow firefighters who are doing an already dangerous job in the most extraordinary of circumstances and sends good wishes for their continued safety, hoping they all return to...

Josephine Reynolds, the first female firefighter in the UK, gave a presentation to the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service as the organization celebrated International Women’s Day. Jo shared her inspirational true story, of how a determined young woman in 1982 applied for the local fire service and unwittingly became a media star. The author of the book, Fire Woman, Jo discussed how she dealt with constant judgment and pressure to succeed. Challenges faced “When...

On 9 February 2022, Northern Gas Networks Ltd was sentenced for safety breaches after a fire and gas explosion at residential premises in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, resulted in the death of the homeowner. fire and explosion Leeds Crown Court heard that, on 11 February 2019, West Yorkshire Fire Service was called to a fire and explosion in Huddersfield Road, Mirfield. The occupier, Elena Frunza, was discovered during a search of the property, whilst it was still on fire. She was taken to Pinder...

Fire crews and groups including the South Pennines Fire Operation Group are warning that lighting BBQs or any moorland fires can incur a prison sentence, as well as destroy precious countryside. BBQ lit fires The caution comes after West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service crews tackled three potentially devastating fires on Marsden Moor over the weekend. On Sunday 27 February 2022, crews from Slaithwaite attended a BBQ lit by a group in a campervan next to Moorland on Mount Road, Marsden, a BB...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority has approved a slight rise in its portion of Council Tax at a meeting. The rise will see a rise of 6p per week (on the 2021/22 charge) for Band A taxpayers, and 10p per week for a Band D taxpayer (on the 2021/22 charge). Despite the rise West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority remains the fourth lowest cost-per-head-of-population in the country. maintain and improve Chief Fire Officer - John Roberts said, “We welcome the decision by the Authorit...

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service hosted a Virtual Reality (VR) workshop series at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service HQ. Staff from around the service took part in the demonstrations, to explore the potential for using the technology in training. VR applications The final session of the day was attended by other fire and rescue services from around the country including Tyne and Wear, South Yorkshire, and Shropshire, as well as members of the National Fire Chiefs Council. The t...

Crews at Illingworth Fire Station will hold a charity car wash on Sunday 6 February, in order to raise money for Ash Green School Community Fund.  Money raised will be matched by Halifax Bank and Barclays Bank, which are both supporting the fundraiser. community support Ash Green Primary School on Clough Lane in Mixenden, Halifax was damaged in a fire earlier recently. Illingworth White Watch was first on the scene to tackle the blaze followed by nine further crews and six specialist tea...

A team from West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service joined together with partners to help train new National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU) technicians last week. The multi-agency training exercise, held at the Fire Service College in Gloucestershire, was part of a training course for new Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) technicians, to increase response resilience in the event of an emergency. Urban Search and Rescue Team A group of 11 staff from West Yorkshire’s Urban Search and...

A team from West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service joined together with partners to help train new National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU) technicians. The multi-agency training exercise, held at the Fire Service College in Gloucestershire, was part of a training course for new Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) technicians, to increase response resilience in the event of an emergency. Resilience training with USAR exercise A group of 11 staff from West Yorkshire’s Urban Search and...

Residents of West Yorkshire are being urged to have their say and help shape the future of the region’s fire service. People who live in the county are asked to contribute to West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Community Risk Management Plan for 2022-25, via a simple public survey released. Community Risk Management Plan “The needs of our community are at the forefront of everything we do, so as we look to update our current plan, it’s important to hear wha...

Ilkley Fire Station has gained two new on-call firefighters following the latest pass-out ceremony at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s HQ in Birkenshaw. Lewis Keirs Lewis Keirs, 19, whose father is also a firefighter with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, came to the service following a football scholarship with Guiseley AFC. Lewis Keirs said, “This feels like a dream, as I spent my childhood idolizing firefighters and fire engines watching my dad and his colleagues in their...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) is reminding the public not to bring flammable objects onto moorland, following the sentencing of a 28-year-old man. Viktor Riedly received a custodial term of one year in prison after a fire on Marsden Moor, that was so large, over 100 firefighters were needed to tackle it. Landowners, gamekeepers, the National Trust, the Local Authority and local community groups also worked at the scene. Major incident with crews Leeds Crown Court heard how he...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging the region’s residents to register their many appliances to make their homes safer. Ahead of ‘Register My Appliance’ Week, from 17 to 21 January, and as part of the government’s Fire Kills Campaign, the service reveals that, unlike cars, household appliances are off the radar for many people if a free safety repair is ever needed. Author's quote Research shows that for millions, the answer is ‘no,’ but this c...

Featherstone Fire Station has gained a new on-call fire fighter all the way from Australia following the latest pass out ceremony at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s HQ in Birkenshaw.  Toby Farmer, 25, has followed a family tradition as he joins Featherstone Station as an on-call firefighter after relocating from New South Wales Australia, where both his father and grandfather have spent their working lives in the fire service.  Firefighting equipment Toby and his 11 f...

Firefighters at Slaithwaite Station have prepared more than 130 Christmas hampers to deliver to local families this week. The station is working with schools in and around the Colne Valley area, as well as the Kirklees and Huddersfield Salvation Army and Food Share Scheme and other partners.  Gifting and food parcel scheme We have a green bin at the front of the fire station which is there 24/7, and has been overflowing every day" Slaithwaite On-Call Fire Fighter, Richard Izzard, who se...

Wakefield Council is working with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and other partners to offer two schemes to help residents stay warm and reduce energy costs. Energy Debt Fund Residents who are in arrears with their energy bills may be able to get help through Wakefield Council’s Energy Debt Fund, by receiving a grant to reduce or clear their debt. This is available for a limited time only and provided as part of the Money Smart Scheme, which provides free support with a range of money an...