Councillors' tour of Heywood Fire Station

Councillors' tour of Heywood Fire Station

2 More Image(s) In Gallery

Councillors were given eye-opening demonstrations of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s specialist vehicles and equipment at Heywood Fire Station.

Members of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority and Rochdale Borough Council attended an interactive session at the station on Thursday, September 13, learning about various aspects of the Service and having a go on some of the equipment.

They were split into three groups and shown around the Water Incident Unit, Enhanced Rescue Unit, Detection Identification Monitoring (DIM) vehicle and other specialist equipment.

Crews from Green Watch Heywood, DIM Officers, firefighters from Ramsbottom and other GMFRS staff members from various departments gave demonstrations and shared specialist knowledge with the councillors.

The idea of the session was to give the visitors a better understanding of the different capabilities available at GMFRS and the variety of incidents the Service attends.

Fire Authority member for Rochdale, Cllr Shaun O’Neill – a retired Rochdale firefighter – said: “The theme of the day was for members to go around and see the different specialist capabilities.

“Although I was a firefighter myself, the equipment and specialist teams have really developed in recent times so it’s good to come along and see how things are done differently.

“It’s been an interesting day – you never stop learning.”

Councillor Amna Mir, also a Fire Authority member for Rochdale, said: “Before today I just thought firefighters went out to fight fires – that they put the fire out and made sure the building was safe but now I know that they have so many other specialised jobs and equipment.

“What surprised me was that some of the equipment is really heavy – the crews have to be extremely fit, I couldn’t believe how heavy it was.”

“It’s been a real eye-opener and I think it’s important that everybody knows the amount of work they do.”

The DIM team deals with any incident involving CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives) issues, so members were shown around specialist detection equipment and the decontamination shower.

Crews demonstrated the boat, equipment and PPE used for water rescues and talked about the different kinds of incidents they attend, such as large animal rescues.

Councillor Shakil Ahmed, from Rochdale Borough Council, said: “I’m surprised to see how different the jobs can be. It’s like being behind the scenes and you don’t normally get to see these kinds of things.”