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West Midlands Fire Service

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West Midlands Fire Service
File:West Midlands Fire Service logo.jpg
Operational area
CountryUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
CountyWest Midlands
Agency overview
Established1974 (1974)
Employees1,909
Facilities and equipment
Stations38
Website
Official website

West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is a fire and rescue service in the UK. The service has 38 Fire Stations with a blended fleet of vehicles and specialist resources.

Chief Fire Officers

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

  • 2014 to present: Phil Loach
  • 2009 to 2013: Vijith Randeniya OBE[1]
  • 2003 to 2008: Frank Sheehan[2][3]
  • 1998 to 2003: Kenneth Knight[4]
  • 1990 to 1998: Graham Meldum[4]
  • 1981 to 1990: Brian Fuller
  • 1975 to 1981: Tom Lister CBE
  • 1974 to 1975: George Merrell CBE[5] (Chief Officer of Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service from 1969)

Role system

As with many other fire services, West Midlands Fire Service uses a rank structure that has evolved over time – the original titles are still used some brigades.

Former title Modern title
Firefighter Firefighter
Leading Firefighter N/A
Sub-Officer Crew Commander
Station Officer Watch Commander
Assistant Divisional Officer Station Commander
Divisional Officer Group Commander
Senior Divisional Officer Area Commander
Assistant Chief Officer Assistant Chief Fire Officer
Deputy Chief Officer Deputy Chief Fire Officer
Chief Fire Officer Chief Fire Officer

Specialist Units

Technical Rescue Unit

Operating out of two locations, a primary base at Bickenhill fire station and a satellite base at Wednesbury fire station, the WMFS Technical Rescue Unit has purpose-built facilities to train in all specialist rescue disciplines, providing a local, regional and national response 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to any USAR/widescale flooding incident as well as the support necessary for specialist rescue incidents.

The team is made up of a Station Commander, Administration Officer, Equipment Maintenance Officer, USAR Training Officer, Search Dog Handler, and four watches each made up of a Watch Commander, Crew Commander and six Technicians. A further four watches are based at Wednesbury.

With shifts running along the same colour watches as the core fire crews, watch based personnel work a 96-hour duty period with 48 hours on full duty and the remainder on retained cover. Retained personnel can respond to base within 30 minutes of being required for multiple incident deployment.[6]

The unit makes use of a wide range of vehicles and equipment to carry out their role. Each TRU base has two primary response vehicles:

  • Technical Rescue Support Unit – this 4x4 Mercedes Sprinter van provide a fast response capability for water, rope, and large animal rescues to get initial personnel and equipment to an incident as fast as possible.
  • Technical Response Pump – based on a modified Volvo FL Pump Rescue Relay, this appliance carries enhanced rescue equipment at the expense of some fire fighting equipment. This will respond to life-threatening incidents in the local station ground alongside the regular TRU callouts.

Additional vehicles and equipment are based at Bickenhill:

  • 4 New Dimension Prime Movers – modified to be able to transport both New Dimension and regular WMFS demountable pods to the scene of an incident.
  • 5 Urban Search and Rescue Modules
  • 1 Water Support Unit
  • 1 Trench Rescue Unit

West Midlands UK-ISAR

The United Kingdom International Search and Rescue Team (UK-ISAR) is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond to humanitarian accidents or disasters anywhere in the world. There are 18 team members in West Midland Fire Services UK-ISAR, split into a Red Team and a Blue Team. The role of the team is to respond to support the UK Government when deploying personnel and equipment in response to international disasters such as an earthquakes.

When on international call, a deployment is made of a team of six including the team leader from one of the groups and a Group Commander to act as the Operations Commander or Deployment Commander in charge of the UK International Search & Rescue Group (UKISARG).

The team should arrive in the affected country within 24 hours of the disaster occurring and be self-sufficient for periods of up to 10 days. Extensive specialist training over and above that normally required for firefighters is given to all team members.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9]

Fire Investigation and Prevention Section (FIPS)

The Fire Investigation and Prevention Section (FIPS) was the first one formed in the United Kingdom in 1983, and in 25 years has attended over 8,000 incidents.

FIPS investigates the cause of fire in a variety of different types of incidents including large fires, fires where the cause cannot be immediately determined, and fires where people may have been injured or died.

FIPS works closely with the Police, other Services, and organisations such as insurance companies, when investigating fires. The officers also work on special projects including arson reduction policies and strategies, human behaviour in fire, the main causes of fire, and the compilation of any information to identify trends in fire causes. This information is vital when undertaking targeted initiatives and campaigns relating to the education of fire safety awareness.

Notable Incidents

  • Disused Factory, Thimblemill Lane, Nechells – June 1985 – 30 Pump Fire, five-storey factory building destroyed.[citation needed]
  • Shannons Mill, Walsall – 2007 – 25 Pump fire. 3 Storey, listed, former leather tanning workshop.[citation needed]
  • Cornwall Road, Smethwick – 2009 – 25 Pump Fire, 2 Large Factories fully involved in fire.[citation needed]
  • Dartmouth Road, Smethwick – 2013 – 35 Pump Fire, 50,000 tonnes of plastic and Jayplas plastics and paper recycling plant on fire.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hard work is key, says new WM fire chief". Birmingham Mail. 20 March 2009. p. 11.
  2. ^ "Meet chief fireman Frank". Birmingham Post. 12 August 2003. p. 4.
  3. ^ "'Surprise' as firefighters' chief resigns". Birmingham Mail. 19 November 2008. p. 3.
  4. ^ a b "Woman saved in fire drama; Kenneth new fire chief for region". Birmingham Evening Mail. 31 January 1998. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Hail to the Chief". Birmingham Post. 7 August 2002. p. 22.
  6. ^ http://www.wmfs.net/content/technical-rescue-unit-0
  7. ^ http://www.wmfs.net/content/uk-isar-international-search-and-rescue-team-0
  8. ^ http://www.wmfs.net/Media/Press+Releases/Press+Release/?contentId=102638 – Fire Service Press release
  9. ^ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7006378/British-rescue-teams-pull-three-survivors-including-Mia-two-from-the-rubble.html – Telegraph Article accessed 17 Feb
  10. ^ "Bosses speak out over "tragic accident" as Chinese lantern sparks region's biggest fire". Express & Star. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
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