Monday 23 July 2007
10.15 hrs
Avon Fire & Rescue Service has been called in to help with
the flood relief effort in Gloucestershire, following this
weekend’s torrential downpours.
On Saturday 21 July the service’s High Volume Pump (HVP), which
is based at Nailsea Fire Station, and its crew, traveled to
Gloucestershire to help pump out the many homes and businesses
affected by the rising waters.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service has also sent another eight
appliances to Gloucestershire to work in the Gloucester and
Tewkesbury areas to relieve Gloucester crews, who have been working
round the clock since Friday afternoon.
Avon’s two rescue boats, one from Bath and one from Bedminster,
were also deployed to the county, along with four Station Managers
and around 40 firefighters.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer / Executive Director Jerry O’Brien
said: “Over the weekend we have been in close contact with
our colleagues in Gloucestershire via the national Fire and Rescue
Service National Co-ordination Centre (FRSNCC) regarding the
co-ordination of resources. As a result of the situation
across the UK, fire and rescue service teams have been on standby
to assist areas worst affected by flooding.
“The Met Office and the Environment Agency are not predicting
any flooding for the Avon area in the coming days. Despite our HVP
being out of the Avon area, we remain covered by light portable
pumps on 18 of our appliances on duty across Avon. Further to
this we have two Davey Micro Pumps in service should we need
them.
“I’m extremely proud of the work our firefighters, Fire Control
and support staff are doing as they continue to support their
Gloucestershire colleagues in providing critical flood relief
effort. It is another example of how dedicated our staff are
to the role they play in protecting all members of the
community.
“While our appliances and resources remain in Gloucestershire I
would like to reassure people living in the Avon area that we can
continue to provide a full and uncompromised service, with staff
being called in from annual leave to cover crews who have been
deployed to Gloucestershire.”
About AF&RS’s High Volume Pump (HVP)
AF&RS received its High Volume Pump in September 2006 as
part of the then ODPM’s (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) £200
million New Dimension Programme. HVPs have two functions - to
provide high quantities of water for firefighting purposes at large
scale fires and to disperse large amounts of floodwater. Each
HVP is capable of moving up to 7,000 litres of water per
minute.
As a result of the New Dimension programme, 46 HVPs were
strategically positioned within fire and rescue services across the
country. The purpose of their location was so that they would
be geographically spread and could be mobilised within their ‘host’
fire and rescue service’s area, or to regional and national
incidents.
About the Flood Co-ordination Centre
As further severe weather warnings were issued, the fire and
rescue service established a Flood Co-ordination Centre in
Worcestershire to make sure that the various resources around the
UK were made available to areas in most need.
The centre, which is operating on a 24-hour basis, is working
closely with the Environment Agency and members of the Public
Weather Services’ Advisory Team on strategic planning.
The National Flood Centre identifies water rescue resources
(both equipment and staff) from agencies such as the fire and
rescue service, RNLI, coastguard, military and mountain rescue from
around the country that are available to support affected
areas.
This intelligence is then matched to requests for
assistance. The Flood Co-ordination Centre then provides
recommendations to the FRSNCC (Fire and Rescue Service National
Control Centre), which mobilises resources in anticipation of, or
in response to, incidents.