Helping out the neighbours
When Leigh firefighters needed to put some new equipment to the test they knew exactly who to call for help - their neighbours Barratt Manchester. With Barratt's Pennington Park development practically on the doorstep of the fire station, officers contacted the award-winning housebuilder to ask about carrying out a training exercise on site - and Barratt obliged by providing machinery and an operator to set the scene for a simulated rescue."They were really helpful," said Mike Eckersall, Commander of Amber Watch for Leigh Fire and Rescue Service. "We came up with the scenario that someone was trapped down a partially-collapsed hole so that we could put our Enhanced Rescue Unit through its paces.
"We need to know how to use the equipment in all scenarios so the more we can practise with it the better."
Barratt loaned a digger and driver to create a trench 10 feet by four feet wide and six feet deep, so that fire officers could test the unit and shore up the sides of the trench to ‘rescue' a training dummy. The vehicle is one of only two in the service and carries a variety of specialised equipment.
Barratt loaned a digger and driver to create a trench 10 feet by four feet wide and six feet deep, so that fire officers could test the unit and shore up the sides of the trench to ‘rescue' a training dummy. The vehicle is one of only two in the service and carries a variety of specialised equipment.
Eleven fire officers took part in the exercise on a patch of land at the development off Atherleigh Way.
"It was a very useful exercise," says Mike. "We do have a training site up at Tameside but it was great to be able to do it closer to home. We appreciate Barratt's support as we know there was a cost involved to them."
Ian Livesley, site manager for Pennington Fold, said Barratt were happy to help.
"It was no trouble helping out the fire service and it was very interesting to watch them in action. And it was appropriate to have them on site too as we are promoting our Red Hot deals at the moment!"
For more information, log on to Barratthomes.co.uk.
