Staff

Fire Service calls for caution around county’s rivers and waterways

An off-duty firefighter’s actions meant two canoeists were ‘lucky to escape with their lives’ after capsizing on the River Severn.

Firefighter Andrew Reeves from Much Wenlock on-call station and his wife Emily, spotted two shapes in the River Severn while driving over the Buildwas bridge.

Firefighter Reeves identified two men in distress being carried by the river after their canoes had capsized. The heavily swollen flood conditions meant the water was extremely cold and carrying large amounts of debris.

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Tue, 12/01/2021 - 10:55

Deputy Chief embarks on retirement

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS), Deputy Chief Fire Officer, has now retired after a total of 22 years’ service.

David Myers has been instrumental in helping transform the organisation into a sustainable service, fit for the future and in championing better working lives for staff.

Mr Myers said: “It has been a pleasure working in Shropshire and I want to thank everyone for their support and hard work over the few years I have been here.

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Mon, 04/01/2021 - 14:03

Driver thanks on-call crews for rescue from near fatal crash

Young adult, survives near-fatal injuries after accident on *one of the most dangerous roads in the UK.

  • 22-year-old male driver allegedly lost control of vehicle due to mud on the A53 between Loggerheads and Market Drayton

  • The driver faced 14 hours of surgery and walked out of hospital on his 22nd birthday, just 10 days after the accident

  • Driver was a well-known member of the community to the on-call crew that rescued him

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Wed, 09/12/2020 - 15:39

'Supportive Employee' title for Service at Dyslexia Awards

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has scooped another award after a thorough evaluation at the 2020 Dyslexia Awards, held virtually on Friday, 27 November.

The Service won the the ‘Supportive Employer’ title for the second time - previously awarded in 2017 – with judge and Founder Elizabeth Wilkinson saying: “It is most definitely an exceptionally well deserved win, I am so proud of all that you do and of all our finalists.”

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Wed, 09/12/2020 - 14:33

Fire Service hosts Facebook live vehicle rescue

To highlight the dangers of winter driving, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is hosting a live Facebook casualty rescue known as an ‘extrication’.

  • Almost a third of all collisions in Shropshire (in 2019) ended in death or serious injury
  • Long-term emotional impact of RTCs can devastate families 
  • Facebook audience invited to submit questions live to fire crew
Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Tue, 08/12/2020 - 14:12

Open to All - Taster Sessions

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has overcome challenging COVID-19 regulations and announced the latest round of dates for its firefighter taster sessions next month.

Rigorous safety measures have been put in place allowing the sessions to continue despite a change in restrictions and will now happen on Wednesday, 7 and Wednesday, 14 October.

The taster days allow members of the public interested in joining the fire service, the opportunity to experience certain aspects of the role.

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Mon, 28/09/2020 - 11:03

Large-scale blaze at landfill site

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has been tackling a large-scale fire at a landfill site in Telford since around 5am this morning.

The call was received at 4.44am (Thursday, 17 September) for an incident at the Granville Recycling Plant, Grange Lane, Redhill and covers an area of approximately 300m2 across steep-sided terrain.

Six appliances have been sent to the incident where a large plume of smoke has been billowing into the sky above the centre of the site.

 

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Thu, 17/09/2020 - 12:49

Business Safety Week - COVID-19 Focus

Businesses Urged Not to Overlook Fire Safety During COVID-19 Outbreak

As part of Business Safety Week, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is urging people who have made changes to business premises to comply with COVID-19 measures, to ensure fire safety remains a top priority.  

The campaign runs from today, (Monday, 7 September) and aims to ensure businesses and their staff have the information needed to prevent, protect and respond to fire incidents in the workplace. 

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Mon, 07/09/2020 - 09:17

Response to positive action taster days

Chief Fire Officer Rod Hammerton, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service 

We acknowledge there has been some criticism of the way the Service has organised its upcoming taster days.

The criticism has largely focussed on our decision to hold separate taster days for specific groups, namely women, LGBT+ and Black and minority ethnic groups. 

As a Service we are trying very hard to address issues that may be persuading some people from these groups that a career in the fire service is not suitable for them.  

By holding taster days tailored to address issues such as this, we believe we have a much better opportunity to dispel misunderstandings and provide people with good, accurate information.

We also want to reassure people that the modern fire and rescue service can offer them a fulfilling and rewarding career. 

Taster days are not recruitment days. They are an opportunity for under-represented groups in the fire service to find out more about working as a firefighter and to encourage them to apply for future vacancies.   

Taster days are positive action, they are not recruitment sessions.   

There are no quotas.   

When we have vacancies we employ the best that apply and only those that meet the standards. 

Positive action is frequently confused with positive discrimination. 

Taster days are an example of positive action, raising awareness amongst those groups, under-represented in our workforce. 
Positive discrimination is illegal and we would not act unlawfully.

A modern day firefighter is a public service role. As well as fighting fires and responding to emergenices, they work in schools and with young people, giving talks to community groups, supporting the vulnerable and most importantly working in people’s homes to prevent incidents.   

We want to be an inclusive service that reflects the communitiy we serve. To do that we want the best people to apply regardless of their age, gender, race or lifestyle for this diverse role. 

We have provided some responses to frequently asked questions that will be helpful in understanding why we carry out positive action. 

Submitted by Maria Bagnall on Tue, 28/07/2020 - 12:51

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