Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is inviting members of the public to an action-packed open day at Bracknell Fire Station, to celebrate 50 years of the station at the heart of the local community.
The open day will take place on Tuesday 25 October from 10am to 4pm and will feature a range of activities and demonstrations and also provide an opportunity for visitors to meet their local firefighters.
As the open day has been scheduled to take place during the half term break at school, there will be plenty to keep the children entertained, including the chance to have a go with hose reels in a session of target practice, a bouncy castle, interactive games and information on fire safety and several educational demonstrations highlighting the work that firefighters do.
The demonstrations are planned to run every 30 minutes during the day, and will include a rescue drill performed at height, a road traffic collision (RTC) demonstration and a hot oil pan fire demonstration – which will explain why you should never put water on a fire involving hot oil.
There will be a display of an impressive breathing apparatus drill, during which the fire station’s breathing apparatus chamber, commonly known as the ‘smoke tent’ will be filled with synthetic smoke. Visitors will have a chance to go into the breathing apparatus chamber attached to a rope – but minus the smoke and navigate around it with some of our firefighters, to allow people to get a taste of the challenging environment firefighters often face when doing their job.
Throughout the day visitors will be able to see some of RBFRS’s vehicles and equipment, including the Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP), the Water and Animal Rescue Unit and the off-road Zetros machine, which is the biggest vehicle in the service and based at Bracknell.
It is hoped that the day will provide much needed funding for The Fire Fighters Charity, which supports people in the fire and rescue community when they are in need. There will be several charity stalls and refreshments and food will be available to buy on the day.
There is no parking permitted on the Fire Station site, but the Fire Station is located only a short walk from the town centre.
Nev Griffiths, Station Commander at Bracknell Fire Station said: “Bracknell Fire Station has now been serving the local community for over 50 years. This open day will provide a chance for local people to come and get to know the station as well as their local firefighters. All are welcome, and there’s plenty to keep everyone entertained.”