Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

N/A at 03/01/2003 12:20

Divisional Officer Mervyn Kettle will be leaving Cornwall County Fire Brigade on the 6th January 2002 to head a project to develop the national strategy for the UK Fire Service response to maritime incidents.

For many years Cornwall County Fire Brigade has been one of the lead Fire Brigades in relation to the national approach of offshore ship firefighting. Due to Falmouth’s unique position it has, as a port, provided refuge for vessels in distress for over one hundred years. Cornwall County Fire Brigade has provided an offshore firefighting response for vessels in distress for humanitarian, commercial and ecological reasons for more than fifty of those years.

Since 1997 the number of United Kingdom Fire Services that have ‘declared assets’ for the non-statutory duty of offshore ship firefighting has reduced by almost half which has given rise to a debate nationally regarding legal issues and national standards and a national strategy.

Chief Fire Officers and Senior Officer’s from Cornwall County Fire Brigade have provided input and advice to Government Departments in order to achieve effective and efficient arrangements for responding to emergencies at sea. As a result of this the Director of Operations and Chief Coastguard at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (M.C.A.) has requested the secondment of D.O. Mervyn Kettle for two years.

The project has been supported by the United Nations International Maritime Organisation (I.M.O.) and expressions of interest in the results of the project have come from Canada, Sweden and Germany.

Mervyn Kettle explains: “I will be working with an officer from Kent Fire Brigade on developing national standards which will be introduced into Fire Brigade Response teams to deal with ships on fire at sea around the UK Coast”

He continued: “This work will include risk assessment, training competencies, equipment assessment and firefighting strategies”

Cornwall County Fire Brigade are yet again being recognised within the national fire service arena for the expertise of its officers.