Page 16 - July 2020

THE SALAMANDER | July 2020
RESPONSE, KENT FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE
Liveryman Mark Rist, Brigade Manager, Assistant Director – Response, Kent Fire & Rescue Service - describes Kent’s response to COVID-19.
The first group of KFRS Fire fighters on completion of their SECAmb training to drive ambulances and work alongside Paramedics along with their course staff and the two strategic lead officers at Rochester Fire Station
way they have changed their work patterns and supported communities. This has involved:
• Working for Age UK to deliver meals, shopping and prescriptions to shielded people. In excess of 4,000 lunches alone in May.
• Telephone befriending for vulnerable people on the Age UK register.
• KFRS staff delivering training to staff at 200 care homes about infection control and the use of PPE, on behalf of the NHS.
• Taking over the management and delivery of consumable PPE across Kent, Surrey, East & West Sussex for the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb).
On average one ambulance has used a week’s consumable PPE per day since the start of March. From their central warehouse to local ambulance stations, 6 vans and drivers from KFRS, 1 each from the other 3 FRS and the existing SECAmb team have made deliveries, all under the management of a KFRS logistics management cell. This is a 7 days a week operation, running until the end of June.
• Operationally, being ready to support SECAmb service delivery. Effectively, this has meant force multiplication by using KFRS officers, fire fighters and Urban Search & Rescue Team members to respond alongside ambulance colleagues to significant incidents. This has included ensuring our people could work safely and effectively in a suspected
Liveryman Mark Rist, Brigade Manager, Assistant Director – Response, Kent Fire & Rescue Service - describes Kent’s response to COVID-19.
Along with many other organisations and individuals my colleagues and I in Kent Fire & Rescue Service (KFRS) watched the global advance of the COVID-19, initially, with interest and then with increasing degrees of concern.
We took an early view that the pandemic, were it to reach the UK, would have a significant impact in all areas. We assumed it would hit hard the most vulnerable in the communities we serve, whilst at the same time adversely affecting our staff numbers and, therefore, service delivery.
Our partners in the Police and Ambulance Services as well as County, Unitary and District Councils had the same views and,
as a result, the Kent Resilience Forum Strategic Command Group (Gold Command) met and declared a Major Incident just before the Government announced the UK wide lockdown.
Fortunately in many ways we, as agencies, have been proved wrong!
Since the UK went into lockdown KFRS sickness levels in all staff groups have fallen to historic lows, our On Call (RDS) appliance availability is consistently high and 999 calls have seen an unprecedented reduction. Our partner agencies have experienced similar outcomes.
However, we worked hard together in the run-up to declaring the major incident to ensure that we could help our communities through a very challenging period.
KFRS colleagues have displayed considerable flexibility in the
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