Firefighters Put Through Their Paces In 'Fire' At SO

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MARCH: Firefighters Put Through Their Paces In Scenario 'Fire' At Royal Mail Sorting Office

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PICTURE the scenario - postal workers becoming trapped inside a Fenland sorting office as fire takes hold of the building.

Around 25 firefighters from across the district scramble to the scene. Some of them enter the building wearing breathing apparatus to search for the missing workers, while colleagues outside set up hose reels and jets ready to tackle the flames.

Meanwhile, onlookers hold their breath and hope that firefighters rescue everyone from inside, while keeping damage to a minimum.

hankfully though, this incident at the Royal Mail Delivery Office in March last night was a training exercise for Cambs Fire and Rescue Service.

The exercise - codenamed Exercise First Class - aimed to test firefighters' responses should a fire occur at the Dartford Road office.

Richard Dykes, station manager for March Fire Station said: "The exercise gave firefighters the opportunity to practice these essential lifesaving skills in a realistic environment, in real time.

"The building itself is fairly large and when smoke filled, the layout is complex. This tested the firefighters as they needed to check every nook and cranny to locate the casualties, while at the same time creating a mental map of the layout so they could bring them out to safety as quickly as possible."

Two crews from March Fire Station, the support unit from March Fire Station, one crew from Manea and one crew from Chatteris took part in the exercise.

They were given the scenario that a small fire occurred inside the sorting office which became heavily smoke logged. Several postal workers were thought to still be inside.

Cosmetic smoke - similar to that used by DJs at discos - was used to fill the sorting office, while firefighters set up their hoses as they would at a real emergency but refrained from using water.

The exercise was carried out in real time and was designed to test operational command and control at an incident requiring a number of fire engines to attend.

Key objectives were to prevent any loss of life and to minimise the damage caused to the building. However, the exercise also succeeded in enabling firefighters to familiarise themselves with the layout of the site and location of water hydrants and other fire-fighting aids.

Mr Dykes said: "Firefighters rescued all casualties and minimised the damage that would have been caused to the building had the fire been real.

"I'd like to thank Royal Mail for agreeing to stage the exercise at this building."

Staff from Royal Mail also got involved in the exercise, by acting as casualties. They also used the exercise as an opportunity to practise their own fire evaluation procedures.

Stefan Burrows, March Delivery Office manager said: "We are always happy to support the local fire service as health and safety of our staff is of prime importance.

"As well as helping the fire service, we were also given a valuable insight into the type of information required by firefighters when they arrive at the scene, such as building plans and details on the possible number of causalities that could be inside.