On the 18th November I had the honour of spending the day with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. I was met in the morning by Bob Preston, Head of Learning & Development, who welcomed me to the Service HQ, and we had an opportunity to discuss call recruitment and training. I also met with Glynn Luznyj, Director of Response, and together they provided me with an overview of their Learning & Development and training facilities, which were extremely impressive.
I particularly found ‘The Villa’ interesting. This facility has been two years in the making and now provides a unique training experience for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, helping fire fighters and the support team to hone their vital lifesaving skills.
We then travelled to Uttoxeter where I met Toby Wilson, Delivery Group Head for the East. Toby showed me around their facility and talked in depth about cover prevention activities, the work of the protect teams and their on call system – even while I was there, the team had a call out to a person who was locked in a building.
The day was extremely informative and inspirational, and I would like to thank Bob, Glenn, Toby and the rest of the team for their time and hospitality. We are most certainly in safe hands with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue!