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Her Royal Highness, The Countess Of Wessex, officially opened Wokingham fire station on Wednesday 8th February.

The Countess was received by Cllr Peter Lucey, Mayor of Wokingham Town, Cllr Colin Dudley, Chairman of Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, Iain Cox, Chief Fire Officer of Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, and Tregear Thomas, Station Manager at Wokingham fire station, before being given a behind the scenes tour of the fire station.

During the tour, The Countess met firefighters carrying out equipment checks in the appliance bay, talked to junior officers about their roles in the Watch Room and watched other crew members taking part in a professional training session. The Countess was also given an informal briefing by Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Southern about the unique challenges faced by the Brigade during the Swinley Forest incident. She then spent some time chatting with members of White Watch about their experiences as firefighters.

The Countess was introduced to some of Wokingham’s retired firefighters and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Support staff, before being invited to unveil a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion. Station Manager Thomas then presented The Countess with two framed photographs of the Swinley Forest fire as a memento of her visit.

Chief Fire Officer, Iain Cox, said: "It was a great honour to welcome Her Royal Highness to officially open the station and it was also a milestone for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, as Wokingham is the first fire station to be built in Berkshire for nearly 20 years.

“The Countess quickly put everyone at ease and was very interested to hear about our work, particularly the challenges presented by the Swinley Forest fire. It was a very special occasion and one that we will remember for a long time.”

Take a look at how the building was constructed by clicking here.

Berkshire’s busy roads mean that Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) firefighters now save more lives by rescuing people from the wreckage of road traffic collisions than they do from fires.

As part of this vital work they train regularly, using cars which are no longer roadworthy. Most of these are donated by members of the public, due to the costs of buying in specially adapted vehicles. The old cars are used to give firefighters hands-on experience of working with as wide a range of vehicles and equipment as possible. Each car is used for multiple training sessions to get as much training time as possible out of each one.

More vehicles are now needed for training and RBFRS is hoping members of the public can help. If you have an old car or van that you would like to get rid of, please consider donating it to RBFRS. Group Manager Paul Maynard, who leads the RBFRS World Champion Extrication (road rescue) team, explained: “We are happy to accept nearly any type of vehicle, it doesn’t matter how badly damaged, rusty or old it is. We are particularly looking for newer vehicles with features such as air bags and electric windows, because they are more challenging to train on but we would be very grateful for older vehicles as well.”

Donating a vehicle to RBFRS is a straightforward process. Vehicles are first assessed by an RBFRS technician, who will then arrange for suitable vehicles to be collected. All paperwork regarding the transfer of ownership is completed before the vehicle is removed. The vehicle is then prepared for use in training, including the removal of any potential pollutants, such as fuel and other fluids. If you would like to donate your old vehicle to help firefighters train to save even more lives on Berkshire’s roads, please call the co-ordinating team on 0118 932 2787 or email centralsupportteam@rbfrs.co.uk.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) was crowned the Pride of Reading at a ceremony held at the Crowne Plaza hotel last week. The Brigade was presented with a Pride of Reading Award in recognition of our handling of the Swinley Forest fire earlier this year and for an incident involving the rescue of two women who were trapped in a muddy bog.

The Pride of Reading awards are organised by the Reading Post and nominations are made by members of the public. RBFRS won the 999 category, which is for emergency service personnel who ‘have gone above and beyond the call of duty’, and the award is for all RBFRS staff who were involved in the incidents.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Olaf Baars and Watch Manager Control Ellen Warner (Blue Watch) were presented with the award by TV personality Chris Tarrant. DCFO Baars said: “I am delighted that Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service has won the Pride of Reading award.

“All of our staff, whether they are firefighters, Control or non-uniformed, regularly go above and beyond the call of duty without a second thought but I am very proud that we have been recognised and rewarded for this by the public we serve.”

For the latest up to date advice and guidance click here.

RBFRS is aware of concerns raised by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service in relation to smoke detectors that they have fitted. We are awaiting the results of their investigation before considering whether any action is required regarding the use of this type of detector. Click here for further information.

“Test Your Smoke Alarm Every Week!”

Get Ready For Winter

With winter weather on its way, now is a good time to think about what winter weather preparations you, your family and community may need to make.

For helpful advice, visit: www.direct.gov.uk/getreadyforwinter

Fire Station Open Days

Open days are often held at a number of our fire stations, giving you opportunity to find out first-hand more about what our firefighters and support staff do. Watch out for details of the latest events.

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