Avon Fire and Rescue Service

History

Avon Fire Brigade was created in 1974, when Avon county was created. In 1996, the county was abolished and four separate unitary authorities were created. Administration of the service was taken over by a joint fire authority made up of councillors from the four unitary authorities. In 2004, the Fire And Rescue Services Act was passed. To better reflect the changing roles and responsibilities of the fire service, Avon Fire Brigade changed its name to Avon Fire & Rescue Service.

Fleur Lombard QGM (1974 – 4 February 1996) was the first female firefighter to die on duty in peacetime Britain, while Avon Fire and Rescue Service were fighting a supermarket fire in Staple Hill. The Fleur Lombard Bursary Fund provides travel grants so that a junior UK firefighter may visit the fire service of another country.

Community Safety

The role of a modern fire and rescue service has increased from fighting fires to cover the core functions of 'Protecting, Preventing and Responding'. Avon Fire & Rescue Service now has a wider remit promoting community safety through events and education work, alongside attending a range of incidents and emergencies from road traffic collisions and fires, to flooding and chemical spills. The fire service aims to cut the risk of fire developing in the first place by promoting safety messages to local residents and encouraging people to have working smoke alarms.

Avon Fire & Rescue Service runs community safety campaigns. The summer 2009 campaign, 'Be BBQ Safe', included a hard hitting interview with a BBQ fire burns victim who spent the previous summer in intensive care after using nitro to light his BBQ.

The Car Clear scheme was launched in 2001, with the intention of promptly removing abandoned vehicles from streets. This eliminates the possibility of arson attacks.

Operations

In meeting their Mission, Vision and Values Avon Fire & Rescue Service utilizes a large cadre of emergency equipment. These include 81 appliances, 51 pumping appliances, four turntable ladders and 16 special appliances. Adding to the available emergency response can also be their boats, pods, fork lift trucks, a Control Emergency Evacuation Vehicle and a telescopic handler. In 2009 & 2011 Avon Fire & Rescue added 2 - Polybilt bodied Combined Aerial Rescue Platforms (CARP). The first began service at the Patchway fire station and was subsequently moved to the Speedwell fire station. The second was assigned to the Bedminster fire station. However both of these appliances have been withdrawn from service by July 2016 and the bodywork has been removed from the chassis to allow for the chassis to be used for new specialist appliances.

Also in 2009 to better serve the public the Yate Fire Station was upgraded to “whole-time/retained status”. Firefighters would now be ready to respond from the fire station 24/7. This was a preparedness upgrade from the previously “crewed” status of 0800 – 1700 hours daily and firefighters responding from their homes and work places.

As part of the “Investing for the Future” programme which began in 2014 Kingswood Fire Station was closed for refurbishment. The Kingswood Fire Station project was completed and subsequently the Speedwell Fire Station closed permanently all in 2015. The Chair of Avon Fire Authority assured the public that response standards will remain unchanged. Along with the Speedwell Fire Station the Keynsham Fire Station was also closed November 1, 2015. According to the Chairman of Avon Fire Authority, Councillor Peter Abraham "The regeneration of Keynsham town centre meant we needed to move the existing Keynsham Fire Station. This has provided us with an opportunity to amalgamate the part-time station at Keynsham and Brislington fire stations, which will both close, into a new Wholetime fire station at Hicks Gate."