Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has redeployed nearly 200 staff to help roll out the COVID-19 vaccine in its mission to help make Shropshire safer and support partners.

The sites at Shrewsbury Bowling Centre, Ludlow Racecourse and the The International Centre, Telford have a mix of operational and support teams supporting the programme.

Staff have stepped up to help get vaccination centres up and running with a fourth site at Oswestry is also set to open soon.

Some of the work includes training 34 staff as new vaccinators, providing mental health support to front line workers, helping to coordinate teams on site, medical assistance and implementing traffic management plans.  

Station Manager, Tom Hatfield said: “This has been a fantastic response from our teams. I’d like to thank everyone involved that has been working hard to co-ordinate this response.

“It’s been no mean feat organising teams in such a short space of time but we’re grateful to everyone who has played a part in helping this happen.

“We are adding huge amounts of value to public safety, some visitors to the clinics are frail and in need of assistance. Having the Fire Service there provides reassurance that they are in safe hands from the moment they arrive and until theyleave the site.”   

Chief Fire Officer Rod Hammerton said: “This is where we do our best work, at the heart of our communities and I’m overwhelmed by the support and praise we have had from the public attending the vaccination sites.

“Public safety is our mission, and we aim to offer support wherever we can to our health and local authority partners to assist with the vaccine roll out. We have a vested interest in it running as smoothly and quickly as possible to make our communities safe again.

“I’d also like to reassure the public that we have been carefully planning how staff are allocated to ensure we can still maintain emergency cover across the county and continue to work with people in their homes throughout this pandemic.

If you would like to keep up to date with the Service, visit the Facebook or Twitter pages at @shropsfire on Twitter and https://www.facebook.com/shropsfire