New flood rescue equipment will keep communities safer

Photo: Hayley Power

Flooding on Todmorden Road on Boxing Day

More equipment has been given to firefighters to help them keep communities safer and respond faster to water rescues and wide-scale flooding.

Some of the kit has already seen action at an incident on Saturday morning when two vehicles became trapped in three feet of flood water in Ferngrove.

Firefighters from Bury and Whitefield and a specialist water incident unit used an inflatable water sled to rescue four people from cars trapped in the flood water in Bury.

The introduction of the new equipment means every fire engine in Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) will soon carry specialist dry suits, personal floatation devices and safety helmets designed to be worn in water.

Firefighters at five stations across Greater Manchester, which have been identified as locations with a higher rate of water rescues, will receive enhanced water rescue training.

These same five stations, which are Wigan, Rochdale, Stockport, Stretford and Manchester Central, will also receive extra water rescue equipment.

GMFRS is also upskilling staff to increase the number of specialist water incident managers across the Service.

The drive to improve GMFRS’ response to flooding incidents comes following several large-scale flooding incidents in the past 12 months.

Following the aftermath of Storm Eva on Boxing Day 2015, 2,467 homes and businesses were flooded, with control operators at North West Fire Control taking more than 500 calls in a 19-hour peak period.