Salamander issue 3

17 / 24

Page 17 Follow us on twitter @LondonFire1666
BRIGADE NEWS
“Guten Tag. Ich freue mich,
Sie kennenzulernen und
in London willkommen zu
heißen”* was not something
The Master ever anticipated
he might have to say during
his year .
Hedidhowever whenhegreeted
Bavarian Fire Chief Thomas
Krosnchang at the Guildhall on
the 2nd October. The Master
had been kindly invited to a
Freedom of the City Ceremony
for Herr Krosnchang courtesy
of The Master Clockmaker and
he realised that this was the first
opportunity he had had to visit
the Chamberlain’s Court since
he obtained his own Freedom
on 10th October 1985 .
The ceremony was conducted
by Laura Miller, Deputy
Chamberlain, who carefully
explained many of the artefacts
on display in the Court to the
obvious delighted German
visitors. At the end of the
afternoon Thomas presented a
bronze plaque of St Florian to
the Master which can now be
viewed in the office at Insurance
Hall.
*Good afternoon. I am delighted to
meet you and welcome to London
CFO Thomas Krosnchang & John
Mansfield (Master WCoFF)
John Mansfield
Master.
Worshipful Company of Firefighters
Freedom of the City
The first new wholetime
firefighters to join Devon
& Somerset Fire & Rescue
Service for eight years have
successfully completed their
initial training.
The 15 new starters, five
of whom are women, have
all passed the initial recruit
training at the Severn Park Fire
and Rescue Training Centre,
Avonmouth.
The recruitment campaign
began in December last year
and there were more than
2,822 applications. The process
was seen as an opportunity to
challenge and alter outdated
perceptions of the role of
a firefighter by attracting a
broader range of applicants.
Chief Fire Officer Lee Howell
said: “The Fire and Rescue
Service in Devon and
Somerset attend a wide range
of emergency calls, including
medical calls to patients having
heart attacks, as well as
providing major trauma care to
people in need. The increasingly
complex environment where
the Fire and Rescue Service
needs to be ready to deal with
chemical incidents or terrorist
attacks means that we need to
train our Firefighters with a wider
range of skills and techniques
than ever before.
Recruit training at the Severn Park Fire
and Rescue Training Centre
Devon & Somerset
Devon & Somerset Fire &
Rescue Service and the
Hazardous Area Response
Team (HART) have engaged in
a collaboration that promotes
both community safety and
effective response in the case
of emergencies.
Rowan Delasalle - Station
Manager National Resilience,
said “The benefits are that Urban
Search & Rescue (USAR) and
HART are trained in the same
skills. If a terrorist incident were
to take place we would respond
together as one team. The
USAR team will be up-skilled in
our first aid ability and HART in
their Urban Search and Rescue
skills. We will be familiar with
each other’s kit but the greatest
benefit is that we get to know
each other.”
The exchange involves staff
from HART operative working
their shift alongside USARwhilst
a USAR/MTFA technician works
their shift alongside HART. Each
member of staff will remain
under the command and control
of their employer while working,
training and responding with
their host organisations.
MOU supports exchange of staff with
SWAST HART & DSFRS USAR/MTFA
New MOU Signed
Peter Hopkins
PR & Marketing Committee
Worshipful Company of Firefighters