Boost for water safety as new rescue boats arrive at Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service
New water rescue boats, which will assist in saving lives across the county, have been delivered into Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS).
The six new Zodiac Milpro ERB400 boats are currently in the final stages of having additional kit and equipment to make them ready to respond to water-based emergencies around Norfolk.
As well as being deployed to inland and Broads rescues, the emergency rescue boats can also assist as part of a multi-agency response in the event of larger-scale flooding incidents.
The trailer mounted rescue boats will compliment the new Technical Rescue Units which will arrive at the end of this year.
The new boats will replace the current rescue boats at King's Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Dereham and Carrow fire stations. Additional investment has also been made to introduce a rescue boat into the service's Training and Development Centre in Bowthorpe, enhancing the service's ability to provide in-house training and ensuring operational response skills are to the highest standards.
Crews on fire stations hosting the new boats are due to undergo familiarisation training before the new fleet of surface rescue boats are put into operation. The new fleet will replace previous boats that are now more than 18 years old, so have reached and exceeded the end of their working life.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Scott Norman said: "With more than 200 miles of inland waterways in our county, our firefighters are regularly called out to emergencies in the water and are also required to respond to large-scale flooding incidents. This investment ensures that we are not only current and ready to respond to incidents across the county but will also ensure our firefighters are fit for the future to carry their lifesaving work."
Watch Manager Paul Owen, Norfolk Fire & Rescue Service Rescue Training Lead, said: "The procurement of six new Milpro Zodiac boats will significantly strengthen the Service's capability to respond to water related incidents across Norfolk's inland waterways. The additional boats will increase organisational resilience and enable internal, instructor led boat training, ensuring crews maintain high levels of competence. Collectively, these improvements will enhance NFRS's operational response to water rescue and flooding incidents."
Fire and rescue services in England do not have a specific statutory duty or funding to respond to flooding incidents, unlike devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, although they do have general duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies. Norfolk Fire and Rescue service will continue to respond to emergency flooding incidents across the county.
NFRS works hard to educate around the dangers of water in Norfolk, as a partner in Norfolk's multi-agency Water Safety Forum. Many of those people that end up being rescued from water did not intend to enter it in the first place. If anyone is in difficulty in the water, partners of the Water Safety Forum discourage anyone else from entering after them, which puts their own lives at risk. Partners regularly carry out water safety education and training to assist the public and businesses in helping to save a life without risking their own.
NFRS's water rescue work does not include rescues from sea, where residents should still call 999 but should ask for HM Coastguard.
