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December 2013
www.emergencyservicestimes.com
Volume 14 | 6
Lighting instruments for Professionals
www.ledlenser.co.uk ledlenseruk
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ESTCONTENTS | 1
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IN EVERY ISSUE Comment News Events Kit Evolution Profile Company Profile Products Last Words
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3 6 22 40 34 40 61 64
IN THIS ISSUE
ESS2013 REVIEW
12
CBRN(E)
25
Water Rescue
45
Lighting Solutions
55
The Emergency Services Show 2013 (ESS2013) took place in late September and took its move to the NEC in Birmingham in its stride.
6
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What have we learnt from the Argon Programme and how can we use the methodology from this three-year Home Office programme to inform future CBRN(E) planning guidance? CFOA National Resilience outlines why the national response to CBRN(E) incidents needs a multilayered approach and we take a look at how HART teams improve patient outcomes in the Hot Zone, specifically in a CBRN(E) situation.
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Throw-line challenge reveals surprising results, the work of SARbot, the under water search, rescue and recovery charity, plus Chris Onion, from R3 Safety and Rescue, highlights the importance of ‘real world’ training for water rescue.
A round-up of the latest lighting solutions available to first responders.
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PLUS Operations
23
Vehicles
32
New National Operational Guidance for the fire and rescue service
London Fire Brigade launches a procurement exercise to pilot telematics and equipment tagging solutions on frontline appliances
National Resilience 39 56 w w w. e m e r g e n c y s e r v i c e s t i m e s . c o m
Jon Hall, CFOA National Resilience lead, outlines how the emergency services coped with the effects of a coastal tidal surge on the East Coast of the UK in early December.
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6 | ESTNEWS Amputees in Action (AIA) has launched a series of training courses in Special Effects (SFX), make-up and moulage. Each course will be facilitated by the company’s own qualified and experienced tutors, provide detailed tuition and demonstrations on every aspect of wound creation. The courses aim to explore the process used in casualty simulation, giving the candidate the opportunity to identify and understand products available in the market, attain knowledge on methods to apply them and experience creating their own realistic wounds.
New technology enhances joint working for ambulance and mountain rescue services
www.amputeesinaction.co.uk
Communications volunteers recently marked 60 years since the formation of the Radio Amateurs’ Emergency Network (RAYNET), which was formed on 25 November 1953 after the east coast floods earlier that year, which saw the loss of 307 lives. Local RAYNET groups cover the majority of the country, with around 2000 RAYNET volunteers, who are mostly licenced radios amateurs. RAYNET volunteers have been active or on standby countless times, including the 1988 Lockerbie air disaster, the 2009 Cumbria floods and more recently the storm of 28/29 October 2013. www.raynet-uk.net
The police forces of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands joined the National Police Air Service (NPAS) on 2 October as part of the fifth phase of implementation since NPAS launched just over one year ago. Once all forces have joined NPAS, there will be 25 aircraft based at 23 strategic locations across England and Wales.
Web-based communication system SARCALL has improved the mobilisation process for Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) in the Lake District. This has enabled North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) to instigate 141 incidents to mountain rescue teams in Cumbria, which were previously handled by the police, since it was introduced in November 2012. SARCALL was developed by North Wales MRT and adopted by police services across Greater Manchester and Cumbria. It enables dispatchers in the ambulance service Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Cumbria and Lancashire to directly page mountain rescue teams across Cumbria when they receive 999 calls that require their rescue support. Updates on ongoing incidents from the mountain rescue teams can be logged and viewed on the SARCALL system. The police and mountain rescue teams can read the SARCALL log, which receives information from the Emergency Operations Centre. Peter Ballan, NWAS Sector Manager for Cumbria and Lancashire Emergency Operations Centre, said, “SARCALL enables more accurate information to
be passed more quickly to the right team. Communication is improved as logs are updated during ongoing incidents. The police can also view information about incidents – which improves links between services. “When a caller mentions an injury on a mountain or remote location they can sometimes be directed to the ambulance service rather than Cumbria Police and mountain rescue, but the MRT – with its local knowledge of the terrain – might be more appropriate. Clearly the MRT has local expertise, which can be invaluable to all agencies responding to calls so that we can give the best care for casualties. SARCALL enables the controller to page the mountain rescue teams and so reduce any delays in reaching the site of the incident.” The implementation of the SARCALL system has been supported by enhanced relationships between agencies. NWAS and the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association (LDSAMRA) have held Operational Management Team meetings at the Kendal Mountain Rescue Team base and shown NWAS around the base.
www.londonambulance.nhs.uk
EPC looks to fill strategic role
for JESIP and informs the remaining programme of work over the next 12 months. Two one day courses have been developed for police, fire and ambulance services who will be jointly training over 18,000 operational and tactical commanders over the next 12 months. The Train the Trainer programme to enable this national training initiative has been running throughout October 2013 and has resulted in a network of over 260 JESIP trainers. Further training products for other staff and an awareness package for wider Category 1 and 2 responders are in development and will be completed before September 2014. www.jesip.org.uk/joint-doctrine
www.epcollege.com
www.nwas.nhs.uk
JESIP publishes Joint Doctrine
The Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) led the Fire Futures Forum on Waste Management and Recycling Fires on 27 November, which aimed to set out a road map toward the reduction of fires at waste and recycling sites, and the mitigation of their impacts. CFOA will now be working with industry and stakeholders to produce a post forum report in early 2014. This report will outline the discussions held and signpost the direction to be taken in order to achieve the objective of reducing waste and recycling fire incidents.
One year on from the official launch of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) and what will be the foundation for the future of improved interoperability is published – Joint Doctrine: the Interoperability Framework. The purpose of Joint Doctrine is to provide specific guidance to police, fire and ambulance commanders on the principles for effective joint working at major or complex incidents. It also provides the directors and managers of other responder organisations an understanding of joint police, fire and ambulance operations. The Joint Doctrine is a key piece of work, which provides the foundation
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Twitter’s system of emergency alerts, which the company says can help spread critical information when other lines of communication are down, launched in the UK and Ireland on 18 November. Fifty-seven UK and Ireland organisations including the UK’s 47 police forces, the London Fire Brigade and the Environment Agency have all signed up to the Twitter Alert service, which is designed to deliver users emergency information during disasters or public emergencies London Ambulance Service was one of the first 999 services to sign up for Twitter Alerts, which first launched in the US in September 2013. By clicking on the link on the @Ldn_Ambulance Twitter homepage followers will be directed to a set up page where they can subscribe to the service’s alerts. Director of Operations, Jason Killens, said, “In times of crisis the public turns to us for information and advice. We already use social media sites to share information with Londoners but Twitter Alerts helps us highlight critical information to our followers by giving tweets added visibility. “We only envisage using Alerts in a crisis or disaster.”
The Emergency Planning College (EPC) is looking to appoint a Strategic Professional Fellow as a non-executive director to support the development and delivery of the EPC’s role as the UK’s centre of excellence for multiagency resilience and emergency management. The post requires a senior individual with recent strategic command experience in the emergency services and high-level, visible and practical association with multi-agency emergency and crisis management. The specific outline of the job and its deliverables will be developed with the right individual. The role has an expected requirement of between two and five working days per month. For more details please visit the EPC website or contact the Head of the Civil Protection Faculty Mark Leigh on mark.leigh@emergencyplanningcollege.com.
www.westyorkshire.police.uk
www.cfoa.org.uk
Twitter Alert service launched
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12 | ESTESS2013 REVIEW
The Emergency Services Show 2013 proves biggest and best yet after move to NEC The Emergency Services Show’s move to the NEC in Birmingham has been heralded as a success after an increase in exhibitors and visitors made the event the biggest and best to date. Exhibitors reported brisk traffic and strong interest from across all the emergency services throughout both days of the show, while visitors enjoyed the diversity of exhibitors, demonstrations, training and networking opportunities across all blue light services. Run in the last week of September, the show hosted some 449 exhibitors (including stand-sharers) and had a total of 5553 visitors over two days (a six percent increase on 2012). David Brown, Joint Managing Director of organiser Broden Media, said, “The show’s move to the NEC has been a tremendous success and I am delighted with the very positive feedback we have received from visitors and exhibitors alike. We have been able to make the most of the excellent facilities, transport links and increased space available and the extensive outdoor demonstration area.” Innovation and networking Jon Hall, Chief Fire Officer, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, commented, “The Emergency Services Show really is a great platform to have a good look at innovation and networking with like
minded people. It was a great success in terms of the location, accessibility and numbers of exhibitors and visitors.” Show visitor Amy Smith, Senior Emergency Planning Officer at Leeds City Council, said, “We are not always able to research new products in our busy day-to-day work as emergency planners and responders. This event showcases a vast range of cutting-edge products and services that can increase our resilience to emergencies.” Dominic Regan, of the marketing team at exhibitor CPDme, said, “This is our third time at The Emergency Services Show and it’s been busier than ever before. Not only have we met our target people from the healthcare sector, we’ve also had very strong interest from the police and fire service, which has given us excellent new contacts and lots of ideas for developing our business into new markets.”
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Right type of visitors Samantha Amena, Marketing Associate at Physio Control, added, “It’s been a fantastic show: great venue, great facilities and we’ve been attracting the right type of visitors to our stand. Our Learning Booth has been packed throughout and we’ve had lots of interest in our CPR Challenge.” “Every single person we have had on the stand today has been a key strategic person from within the brigades,” said Oliver North, Managing Director, North Fire Plc. “The Emergency Services Show is our number one priority event in the emergency services calendar every year. This has been a great year for us and even better than last year.” The Emergency Services Show returns to the NEC in Birmingham from 24-25 September 2014. www.emergencyuk.com
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ESTESS2013 REVIEW | 13
See you next year
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32 | ESTKIT EVOLUTION
1965 – Woollen Tunic T63 Fire coat
Ensemble specification
Features & Benefits: • Fire coat made from wool fabric • Uniform styling • Good heat protection when dry • Relatively flame resistant
Manufactured by Bristol Uniforms to meet first Home Office Standard A1 for firefighter clothing in 1965. At this time firefighter PPE was manufactured using what limited fabrics were available and focused on protecting the wearer from external hazards. There was little, or no, scope for design or comfort considerations.
Disadvantages: • Heavy when wet • Difficult to clean/absorbs dirt, hydrocarbons and blood borne pathogens
Trousers Features & Benefits: • Wet Legs made from Polyvinylchloride (PVC) • Waterproof Disadvantages: • No heat resistance • No flame resistance • Flammable
PVC wet legs
Woollen tunic with PVC wet legs
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Nomex coat with PVC wet legs
Some of the basic elements of today’s PPE were absent in 1965. In a male dominated public sector organisation there was no provision for female firefighters in shape, styles or sizes. There was no provision, or need in some cases, for extra pockets for radios, torches and other accessories. The same uniforms were worn by every fire brigade in the country – occasionally provision was made for use of a fire brigade’s own buttons. Firefighters were expected to maintain their own protective clothing, including washing and repairing their garments.
Early Wessex
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ESTKIT EVOLUTION | 33
2013 – XFLEX™ Structural Firefighter PPE By 2013, fibre and fabric manufacturers have developed a wide range of natural and man-made fabrics in composite materials, which afford high performance resistance to heat and flame, tear and abrasion resistance. Modern three-layer PPE construction, incorporating a variety of fabrics, enable today’s designs to focus on the ergonomics of clothing to provide enhanced flexibility, movement and comfort. Lighter weight constructions also provide enhanced scope to reduce heat stress on firefighters.
Fire coat Features: • Double zip flap extends to neck with internal zip guard to protect throat • Soft knitted inner lining on collar • Deep return on cuff hem ensures gloves fit well inside sleeve • Ergonomic threedimensional articulated elbow • Hem of sleeve curved over back of hand for additional protection
Trousers
General
Features: • H Braces with unique webbing slide adjuster • Inside hem lined with Neoprene to minimise abrasion from boots • Fully articulated threedimensional ergonomic knee shaping which goes through all layers • Very flexible reinforcement fabric used
• Reflective tape is breathable and stitched with ‘Trimsaver’ metaaramid braid • Brigade names can be added to the back or on a vertical sleeve graphic on the coat • 28 sizes – ie seven chest fittings and four height fittings available in both male and female ranges
Wessex 1990s
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Ergotech Action™ 2003
XFlex™ with ECO-dry 2011
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36 | ESTPEOPLE Temporary Chief Constable Bernard Lawson has announced that Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Graham has been chosen as the new Deputy Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary. ACC Graham will take up his appointment with effect from 1 January 2014.
Ambulance charity thanks Fire Service College Emergency Services Show organiser role for Jon Hall
www.cumbria.police.uk
Bill Lawson has been appointed as President of PBI Performance Products Inc. Bill has been with the company since 1981 and has been PBI’s Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director since 2005. Bill’s leadership of the company has strengthened PBI’s market presence and operational excellence, which is reflected in the strong performance of the business. www.pbiproducts.com
Lord McKenzie of Luton has become President of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). He was elected to the office at the safety charity’s annual meeting in Birmingham on 8 November and succeeds Lord Jordan of Bournville CBE, who held the post for five years. www.rospa.com
Airwave’s Head of Business Continuity and Emergency Planning, Mark Jones, has been appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Electronic Communications Resilience and Response Group (EC-RRG) – a triparty emergency planning group made up of the major UK network operators, government and Ofcom. www.airwavesolutions.co.uk
Merseyside Police has appointed Andy Cooke as its new Deputy Chief Constable. DCC Cooke joined Merseyside Police in 1985 and has served at every rank as a detective. www.merseyside.police.uk
Surrey Police has appointed Gavin Stephens as a new Assistant Chief Constable. Gavin, who has been in the post temporarily since May this year, will have responsibility for overseeing local policing across the county. www.surrey.police.uk
The Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) has appointed Paul Fuller as CFOA President for the term 20132014. CFOA also welcomes Paul Hancock, Chief Fire Officer at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, who joins the Presidential Team as Vice-President Elect. Completing the Presidential team is Vice President Peter Dartford, Chief Fire Officer at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. www.cfoa.org.uk
The ASBF has shown its appreciation to David Brown, organiser of The Emergency Services Show, by presenting him with the ASBF wall shield. Presenting the shield at the Charity’s stand, ASBF Chairman Paul Leopold, said, “We are so grateful to David for his continued support with
the space he donates to our charity each year and it gave me great pleasure to present him with a small token of our appreciation. With the generosity of people like David promoting the ASBF would be so much more difficult.” The ASBF was set up over 27 years ago with the aim to care for the carers and continues to develop its future care programmes to improve the help and support for all ambulance service personnel in their time of need.
parts of the Force area. “It is also good to see someone born and bred in North Wales, and whose first language is Welsh, achieve such a prominent position in the area.” Gareth, the ACPO lead for Search and Rescue nationally, is also the National lead for Dangerous Dogs and holds the Dangerous Dogs Portfolio for Police in England and Wales. As part of this portfolio he liaises with both DEFRA and the Welsh Government seeking to improve public protection in this field.
Jon brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise with over 30 years’ experience in the fire and rescue service, most recently as Chief Fire Officer for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service. In his role as Chair of the National Resilience Board for the UK, Jon also has first hand experience in delivering civil resilience as well as commanding a number of major incidents. Jon will act as the senior professional officer at the College and as the key interface into the fire and rescue service. Jon will focus on providing effective leadership for the design and delivery of training, learning and conducting exercises as well as supporting the fire and rescue service in ensuring safe and cost effective development of its organisational capability. Jez Smith, Managing Director at the Fire Service College, said, “I am pleased to be able to appoint such an experienced and high calibre director to our team, Jon’s knowledge and expertise in the fire and rescue service will be a great asset to the Fire Service College and I look forward to working with him. This is an exciting time for the College and Jon’s appointment further strengthens our commitment and vision to become a world-class centre for fire and multi agency training and leadership development.” Commenting on his appointment, Jon added, “I am delighted to be joining the team at such an important time for fire and rescue services. With chief officers facing unprecedented challenges, it is vital that the College understands these and develops innovative solutions to assist.” Jon will leave Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service on 1 February 2014.
www.north-wales.police.uk
www.capita.co.uk
www.asbf.co.uk
Interim Chief Executive appointed at EMAS Sue Noyes has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS). Her interim role at EMAS is expected to last at least nine months while a permanent successor can be found. Sue has more than 20 years’ experience in the NHS – most recently as acting Chief Executive at the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Sue said, “I’m looking forward to getting started at EMAS. I know that all staff in the organisation are committed to serving the people of the East Midlands in the best way possible and I see my role as helping the organisation reach its full potential in this mission.” Pauline Tagg has been appointed as acting Chair of EMAS for up to six months following the recent resigna-
tion of Jon Towler, who served in the role for two and a half years. www.emas.nhs.uk
North Wales Police appoints DCC Gareth Pritchard has been appointed the new Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) of North Wales Police. Mr Pritchard has been acting DCC since the retirement of Ian Shannon earlier this year. Chief Constable Mark Polin said, “I am very pleased to announce that Gareth Pritchard has been appointed as the Deputy Chief Constable. This is a key appointment and Gareth will bring many qualities to the role and offer continuity in the chief officer team, having served in a variety of positions over many years in different
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The Fire Service College has announced the appointment of Jon Hall as Director of Training and Organisational Development.
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ESTWATER RESCUE | 47
Underwater search, rescue and recovery At present there are few, if any, emergency services in the UK that can attend the scene of a drowning and deploy under the water to search for and recover a victim quickly. SARbot UK is a unique and efficient rescue and recovery charity operating around the UK. Words: Duncan Winsbury, CEO, SARbot UK. Once at a drowning incident scene the SARbot Team can deploy its equipment within four minutes. If the team is in the right place at the right time, this could mean the difference between saving a life and repatriating a body. Vast areas of open water can be searched in a very short space of time – an average size lake could be searched comprehensively in less than a day; a one-mile stretch of a canal can be searched in one to two hours and similar times with a river. How effective is this equipment? SARbot UK deployed on a number of occasions over the past 12 months to assist and complement emergency services’ search and recovery teams throughout the UK. The team has been instrumental in the recovery of several bodies using its equipment and expertise. Notable searches include the search for the remains of the missing Eastenders actress Jemma McCluskie, on the Regent Canal London, Dylan Cecil at BurnhamOn-Sea, April Jones in Wales and Sacha Schornstein, the pilot who crashed mid channel in July 2013.
“An immediate response to a drowning incident is essential.” We are normally called upon to assist when all other search techniques have been exhausted. We can, however, help and be beneficial financially, as well as from a life saving perspective, from the outset of any search. Search dog team The water search dog team, specially developed ROVs and sonar devices can quickly and safely identify where the body is without the need for divers spending countless hours in sometimes dark and dangerous conditions. Once the location of the body is identified divers or one of the ROVs can be deployed. Our ROVs can also provide information on the depth, water temperature and, using the onboard multi beam sonar, can see through the murkiest of water. Using the human limb grabber we can then ‘Grab’ to the body and recover it to the surface. Practical and professional support SARbot UK volunteers are recruited from all walks of life, as well as calling on the experience from members of the emergency services. Currently we have volunteers from the fire and rescue service, police, Army, RNLI and HM Coastguard, as well as several members of the public. We work very closely with sonar and ROV manufacturers from all over the world, which ensures we have the latest
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The water search dog team, specially developed ROVs and sonar devices can quickly and safely identify where the body is without the need for divers spending countless hours in sometimes dark and dangerous conditions.
technology available at all times, complementing the resources of the emergency services. We also have some exciting new developments on the horizon, which will provide an enhanced search capability to our already impressive arsenal of equipment.
SARbot’s association with Reach and Rescue provides a safe solution to rescue the victim before they slip beneath the surface.
Reach and Rescue There is currently a very limited response in the emergency services search and rescue capabilities underwater; fire and rescue service, RNLI, Coastguard and volunteer rescue groups often don’t have an underwater capability. Police dive teams are an excellent resource that shouldn’t be understated, however, these teams are forensic and recovery units that are often staffed part time, which often means that an immediate response to a
drowning victim is not possible. An immediate response to a drowning incident is essential and our association with Reach and Rescue provides a safe solution to rescue the victim before they slip beneath the surface. The Reach and Rescue pole systems have helped to evolve water rescue techniques around the world to a new standard. The mantra of ‘reach, throw, row and go’ has been used with the water rescue teams for some time. The telescopic poles rapidly and accurately deliver the rescue equipment of choice to the victim safely and continue on to retrieve in seconds safely and in a controlled manner. Seatronics partnership We will shortly launch, in association with Seatronics, an ROV that will accept GPS coordinates then pilot itself on search patterns. This will work in conjunction with the Side Scan Sonar Team, which is able to search vast areas very quickly; they will then pass the coordinates of the target to the ROV Pilot who will input them to the ROV before it goes on its mission. SARbot UK’s success has led to number of European Countries taking an interest in the company’s services; earlier this year the team hosted the Dutch Fire Service and also attended a return visit to the Hague. Next year the team has been invited to Croatia to demonstrate its capabilities. France, Germany, Denmark and Norway are also taking a keen interest. www.sarbot.org.uk
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