Watch Manager Ian Chapman is pictured centre with the certificate, alongside Area Manager Denis O'Driscoll and Councillor David Rowlands, Chairman of the Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority, and the Winslow Retained Duty System Crew at Winslow Fire Station.
23 October 2009
Firefighters from one of Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Retained Duty System (RDS) stations have been congratulated for exceeding a significant performance target.
The crew from Winslow were presented with a letter of congratulations by Area Manager Response, Denis O’Driscoll, at the station last night.
Led by Watch Manager Ian Chapman, the 13 crew members have achieved 99.5 per cent availability between April 2007 and April 2009, smashing the target set in the Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service Integrated Risk Management Plan for all RDS stations in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes to achieve 95 per cent availability of RDS pumping appliances.
After receiving the letter of congratulations on behalf of his crew, Ian said: “We are really pleased that we have been able to achieve such a high rate of availability for Winslow and its surrounding area.
“We do this job because we recognise the important role the RDS firefighter can perform for their community. However, without the support and understanding of our families and friends we would not have been able to achieve this, as they are the ones who hold things together, pick up the pieces and carry on as usual when we have to rush out in response to an emergency call.”
RDS crews are paid staff who do the same job as full-time firefighters but are not based in a fire station. Instead they are on standby, waiting to be called out from home or work
Denis said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the crew who, bearing in mind they work the Retained Duty System, have consistently reached and exceeded a very high performance target.
“The incident earlier this year at the Mondo Foods factory in Station Road, Winslow, highlighted the importance and benefit of having a local crew available. Had the Winslow appliance not been available and not arrived as quickly as it did, we may have missed the opportunity for early intervention, and the result of the fire could have been very different.”
The fire was already threatening to take hold when the Winslow crew arrived at the two-storey industrial unit on 3 September but they, alongside crews from Buckingham, Aylesbury, Bletchley, High Wycombe and Stokenchurch were able to get water inside the building in the very early stages while also tackling the fire from the outside, bringing it under control quickly and preventing the destruction of a local business.
Denis added: “If the Winslow crew had not been available when that call come in the valuable minutes it would have taken to get the next nearest crew out to the incident would have worked against us. The additional benefit was that Winslow are a good, experienced crew who knew how best to deal with this incident and quickly set to, tackling the fire.
“We recognise the commitment that our RDS staff offer and the support and flexibility that is also provided by many local employers in releasing their staff to support a vital community safety function.”
The station also prides itself on being aware of the local community, its opportunities, and any issues that arise in the area. The crew hold regular “Biker drop-in sessions” from their prime location, positioned on the A413 - a regular route for members of the motorcycling community – where bikers are invited to stop for a cup of coffee and a chat giving a perfect opportunity for the crews to offer road and motorcycling safety advice.
Councillor David Rowlands, Chairman of Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority, was also present at the station when the crew received their certificate.
Councillor Rowlands said: “I am very pleased that the RDS stations are being recognised for these achievements. The RDS crew is a very important part of our establishment, training during evenings and weekends to ensure they are prepared for any emergency call they are alerted to.
“The benefit of RDS crews is that living or working in the area, they have local community awareness. Not all of our RDS units are meeting this target, and that is primarily due to the vacancies we are currently experiencing at some of the stations.
“We are lucky to have a full quota of RDS firefighters at Winslow at the moment, but at some stage there will be vacancies, and we do look to build up a bank of interested potential recruits. Although we are not currently recruiting at Winslow, we are looking for potential RDS recruits at Buckingham.”
Like their full-time colleagues, RDS staff are trained and equipped to deal with a wide range of incidents and situations. These include fires, road traffic collisions and protecting the community through fire safety work.
Their on-call time can be a combination of daytime, evening and weekend hours. They are paid for being on call and called out, and are entitled to paid holidays, sick pay and membership of a pension scheme.
There are benefits for employers who release staff to be RDS firefighters too. The employee will be professionally trained to deal with emergencies, and an RDS firefighter on the staff could help save lives and property in the event of an emergency. Staff can also be trained for further qualifications such as health and safety and first aid, which could help the business as well.
To be an RDS firefighter you need to be at least 18 years old, physically fit and live and/or work close to the fire station. Just as important are qualities like common sense, commitment, enthusiasm and the ability to work as a member of a team.
If you would like to find out more about working as an RDS firefighter in Buckingham or another of our RDS stations, or if you are an employer interested in allowing your employees to participate, ring the information pack hotline on 01296 744670 or email rdsrecruitment@bucksfire.gov.uk
Winslow are one of five RDS units that have exceeded the target,
and are the first to be presented with their letter of recognition,
the others will receive theirs at a later date.