6. Transport
Review of operational policy and procedure – extrication, rescue, and firefighting – and the need for specialist responders, vehicles and equipment.
During 2024/25 we have been gathered data on the types of road traffic collisions we attend and how we have had to deal with them.
Improvements in vehicle safety have resulted in fewer instances of people needing to be removed from a vehicle following a collision. However, when we do need to rescue people, the construction methods, materials, safety features and fuel systems of modern vehicles, mean it can often be complicated and more challenging to resolve. At the same time, improvements in vehicle extrication tools have enabled us y to adapt our approach.
Our current approach relies on splitting our rescue capability across three different fire engine types – heavy rescue pumps, rescue pumps, and pumps. This has allowed us to scale our response according to the complexity of the situation but has some challenges, including training time, the wide range of equipment required, and the number of fire fighters and fire engines we must send to the scene.
In 2025/26 we will be exploring a range of alternative approaches to the way we provide our rescue capability. We want to:
- ensure that those that carry out specialist rescues are trained to a high standard
- use our equipment efficiently
- ensure that we have the right amount in the right place to meet demand.
Many of our current heavy rescue and rescue appliances are due for replacement, so it is timely to review what we replace them with. We want to complete our research in this area over the next year to have a new appliance specification, and proposals on new ways of working for 2026/27