West Midlands Fire Service

West Midlands Fire Service (W.M.F.S)

Agency overview
Chief Fire Officer	Vij Randeniya
Facilities and equipment
Stations	37 Full Time & 1 12 hour cover

West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of the West Midlands in England.

The West Midlands Fire Service functions under the control of the "West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority", which is a joint-authority, made up of councillors from the seven local authorities in the West Midlands.

The service was created in 1974 when the West Midlands county came into being. Prior to its creation, each of the county boroughs in the West Midlands area (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Solihull, Walsall, Warley, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton) had their own fire brigade. The largest of these brigades was the City of Birmingham Fire Brigade. The WMFS was created by a merger of these, plus parts of Warwickshire Fire Brigade, and is now the second largest and one of the best-performing fire and rescue teams in the UK.

The service was originally headquartered in the former City of Birmingham Fire Brigade headquarters at Lancaster Circus which were opened on 2 December 1935 by HRH Duke of Kent. It is now a Listed building. However, the service moved to purpose built, modern headquarters on Vauxhall Road, Nechells, with the move commencing in July 2008 (and being completed by the end of November).

Organisation

Bickenhill Community Fire Station, near to the National Exhibition Centre

The brigade is run under the command of the Chief Fire Officer Vij Randeniya and the Corporate Board, and provides emergency response from 38 strategically located fire stations, divided into eight Command Areas.

Six of the Command Areas are coterminous with the Metropolitan boroughs of the West Midlands county; Birmingham however is divided into two commands. The full list of Command Areas is as follows:

• Birmingham North
• Birmingham South
• Coventry
• Dudley
• Sandwell
• Solihull
• Walsall
• Wolverhampton

Chief Fire Officers

The following people have held the office of Chief Fire Officer:

• George Merrell CBE 1974–1975 (Chief Officer of Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service from 1969)
• Tom Lister CBE 1975–1981
• Brian Fuller 1981–1990 (Appointed Commandant of the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh in September 1990)
• Graham Meldrum 1990–1998 (Went on to become HerMajesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services)
• Kenneth Knight 1998–2003 (Appointed Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade in July 2003)
• Frank Sheehan 2003–2008
• Vijith Randeniya OBE 2009–date

Fire Stations

A cast-iron Birmingham Corporation fire-hydrant cover, from the time when the City Council was responsible for both the local fire service and water supply

The fire service has 38 fire stations, all of which are full-time.

Number	Station	Appliances/Callsigns
A2	Aston	A021 Pump Rescue Ladder, A022 Pump Rescue Ladder
A3	Sutton Coldfield	A031 Pump Rescue Ladder
A4	Erdington	A041 Pump Rescue Ladder, A042 Pump Rescue Ladder
A5	Perry Barr	A051 Pump Rescue Ladder, A048 Prime Mover, Demountable Pods (Water Support Unit, Foam Distribution Unit, General Purpose Unit) - Brigade Response Vehicle to be allocated in future
A6	Ward End	A061 Pump Rescue Ladder, A062/4 Pump Rescue Water Tower
A7	Handsworth	A071 Pump Rescue Ladder, A072 Pump Rescue Ladder, Incident Command Unit
B1	Solihull	B011 Pump Rescue Ladder, B012 Pump Rescue Ladder, Command Support Vehicle
B2	Sheldon	B021 Pump Rescue Ladder, B025 Brigade Response Vehicle, 2x New Dimension Prime Movers, Demountable Pods (High Volume Pumping Unit, Hose Boxes), HVPU Support Van
B3	Coventry	B031 Pump Rescue Ladder, B032 Pump Rescue Ladder, B034 Hydraulic Platform
B4	Canley	B041 Pump Rescue Ladder, New Dimension Incident Response Unit
B5	Foleshill	B051 Pump Rescue Ladder, B055 Brigade Response Vehicle
B6	Binley	B061 Pump Rescue Relay, B065 Brigade Response Vehicle
B7	Bickenhill	B071 Pump Rescue Ladder, Reserve Prime Mover
	Bickenhill Technical Rescue Unit	2x Rapid Response Units (Water/Rope Rescue) 4x New Dimension Prime Movers, Demountable Pods (5x USAR pods, Major Rescue Unit, Water Support Unit, Rope Rescue Unit, General Purpose Unit)
C1	Highgate	C011 Pump Rescue Ladder, C012 Pump Rescue Ladder, C014 Aerial Ladder Platform
C2	Woodgate	C021 Pump Rescue Ladder
C3	Smethwick	C031 Pump Rescue Ladder, Reserve Prime Mover, Demountable Pod (Skid Steer Loader)
C4	Bournbrook	C041 Pump Rescue Ladder
C5	Kings Norton	C051 Pump Rescue Ladder
C6	Northfield	C061 Pump Rescue Ladder, C065 Brigade Response Vehicle
C7	Ladywood	C071 Pump Rescue Ladder, C072 Pump Rescue Ladder
C8	Billesley	C081 Pump Rescue Ladder
C9	Hay Mills	C091 Pump Rescue Ladder, C092 Pump Rescue Ladder, C098 Prime Mover, Demountable Pods (BA Main Control Unit, Hazardous Substances Unit, Environmental Unit, Incident Support Unit, Welfare Unit, 3x General Purpose Units)
D1	Oldbury	D011 Pump Rescue Ladder, D012 Pump Rescue Ladder, D014 Aerial Ladder Platform
D2	Brierley Hill	D021 Pump Rescue Ladder, D022 Pump Rescue Ladder
D5	Stourbridge	D051 Pump Rescue Ladder, New Dimension Incident Response Unit
D6	Cradley Heath	D061 Pump Rescue Ladder - Brigade Response Vehicle to be allocated in future
D7	Tipton	D071 Pump Rescue Ladder, D075 Brigade Response Vehicle, Command Support Vehicle
D8	West Bromwich	D081 Pump Rescue Ladder, D082 Pump Rescue Ladder, D088 Prime Mover, Demountable Pods (Major Rescue Unit, BA Main Control Unit, Foam Distribution Unit)
D9	Dudley	D091 Pump Rescue Ladder, D095 Brigade Response Vehicle
E1	Walsall	E011 Pump Rescue Ladder, E012 Pump Rescue Ladder, E014 Hydraulic Platform, New Dimension Incident Response Unit
E2	Bloxwich	E021 Pump Rescue Ladder
E3	Willenhall	E031 Pump Rescue Ladder, E038 Prime Mover, Demountable Pods (Incident Support Unit, Hazardous Substances Unit, Environmental Unit)
E4	Aldridge	E041 Pump Rescue Ladder
E5	Wolverhampton	E051 Pump Rescue Ladder, E052 Pump Rescue Ladder
E6	Fallings Park	E061 Pump Rescue Relay, E065 Brigade Response Vehicle
E7	Bilston	E071 Pump Rescue Ladder,
E8	Tettenhall	E081 Pump Rescue Ladder
E9	Wednesbury	E091 Pump Rescue Ladder

The former fire station at Lancaster Circus was home to the longest fireman's pole in Europe at 40 feet (12 m) in length.

Fire appliances

WMFS Volvo Pump Rescue Ladder

West Midlands Fire Service operates over 60 front line fire engines, mainly of the Dennis Sabre type but also the Volvo FL (Following the cease of fire appliance chassis manufacture in 2007, Dennis could no longer supply Sabres to the brigade, prompting the decision to find a new chassis for new appliances. The Volvo FLL 15 chassis was chosen as a suitable replacement for the Dennis Sabre). The service also operates a number of specialist appliances compromising four hydraulic platforms with up to a 32 metre reach, an Incident Command Unit and two specialised command support vehicles equipped with extensive communication and control facilities, along with an ISIS remote controlled drone, allowing incident commanders to view an incident from the air. There are also a number of specialised demountable pods for various roles (Water Rescue Unit, Environmental Unit, etc.) that are strategically located at fire stations around the county and transported to incidents on the back of a heavy duty prime mover.

Not all fire engines are crewed 24 hours a day; at 13 fire stations with two fire engines, the second engine is classed as a 'late pump' and is manned only between the hours of 10am and 10pm. This is matched to the demand of the station area. A different watch system is used to cover the late shift - four days on, four days off - as opposed to the standard core 24 hour shift - two days on, two nights on, four days off.

The government's New Dimension programme has equipped the brigade with three Incident Response Units, two High Volume Pumping Units, one Detection Identification and Monitoring vehicle along with the Urban Search and Rescue vehicles.

Following various reviews, it was found that a more flexible and versatile set of vehicles, equipment and crewing levels would enable WMFS to more closely match the demands and risk posed by an incident to the level of resources use to respond to it. As such, a new type of vehicle is being introduced into the fleet; designated a Brigade Response Vehicle, these specially-adapted Toyota Hilux Invincibles are smaller than a standard fire engine and can achieve a quicker response to various incidents, often resulting in preventing a situation from escalating. Crewed by three firefighters, they can be sent to any type of incident reported to the brigade, depending on the information collected and received and come complete with a powerful water pump, 300 litres of water, a ladder, vehicle cutting equipment and water rescue kit . They will replace a standard fire engine at some fire stations but will provide an additional resource at others; some will be manned 24hrs/day whilst others will be only 12hrs/day, corresponding to the current late pump system.

Technical Rescue Unit (Urban Search and Rescue)

Located at Bickenhill fire station, the Technical Rescue Unit operates both the USAR pods and vehicles provided by the government, along with several other vehicles specially purchased by the brigade itself. The unit also boasts a state-of-the-art urban search and rescue training rig as well as offering rope and water rescue training, making it the one of the top USAR training centres in the UK. Initial response to incidents is provided using two Mercedes Sprinter rapid response vehicles, which carry various equipment for water and rope rescues where a fast response is required.

12 members of the West Midlands team were deployed as part of the UKISAR (United Kingdom International Search And Rescue) mission to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake there on 12 January 2010. The team were joined by 2 further members who had been in Sweden as part of a training exercise at the time of the earthquake. The team were involved in the rescue of several people, including two-year old Mia, who had been trapped for over four days.

Future

Following an operational review by West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service the decision was taken to amalgamate Cradley and Halesowen Fire Stations and provide a single Fire Station in Cradley Heath. The new fire station is currently under construction and will be located on on the corner of Halesowen Road and Barrs Road.

Following a large number of cuts in government funding, the service has had to try and streamline as much as possible to try and negate the effect on the service provided to the public. WMFS has committed to keeping open its 38 fire stations, with at least one standard fire engine at all of them, and to maintaining its five-minute target response time to high-risk incidents. Coventry, Highgate and Walsall fire stations will each have two fire engines available around-the-clock. The go-ahead has been given for a further roll-out of Brigade Response Vehicles, bringing the total number up to 8 around the county as of July 2013.

Notable Incidents

• Disused Factory, Thimblemill Lane, Nechells - June 1985 - 30 Pump Fire, five-storey factory building destroyed.
• Shannons Mill, Walsall - 2007 - 25 Pump fire. 3 Storey, listed, former leather tanning workshop.
• Cornwall Road, Smethwick - 2009 - 25 Pump Fire, 2 Large Factories fully involved in fire.
• Dartmouth Road, Smethwick - 2013 - 35 Pump Fire, 50,000 tonnes of plastic and Jayplas plastics and paper recycling plant on fire.

See also

• Fire service in the United Kingdom
• West Midlands Police
• West Midlands Ambulance Service
• West Midlands Search and Rescue

External links

• West Midlands Fire Service's website