Agenda item

To consider item 17

The Station Commander Aylesbury and USAR advised Members that the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) programme was established following the 9/11 attack on New York in 2001. USAR formed part of the Government’s New Dimension programme, which sought to enhance the capability to allow certain fire and rescue services to respond to a range of major emergencies. these could include acts of terrorism, natural disasters, incidents involving large scale transport collisions or attacks on national infrastructure. Aylesbury Fire Station was proud to be part of the national network of 20 bases for the people, vehicles and equipment needed to provide this National Resilience capability. To ensure staff were well equipped and trained to provide this enhanced technical rescue capability, crews were expected to engage in a wide range of additional training that was above and beyond that of the standard frontline firefighter.

The Station Commander Aylesbury and USAR advised Members that the Service needed to be able to demonstrate best value to the communities and to the Home Office who provide additional funding on an annual basis for delivering this capability. The inclusion of a USAR training facility at Aylesbury would not only assist in demonstrating best value but would also ensure the USAR crews were trained and prepared to the same level of other USAR crews nationally. The benefits to be had from the inclusion of the training facility were separated into three main areas:

Invest to Save - the financial cost to the Authority for providing the USAR capability could be significantly reduced if training could be undertaken in house and on site. This would result in £10,800 savings in relation to current annual training costs.  In addition to this, it would reduce overtime and bank cover costs;

Invest to Protect – having a dedicated training facility at the same location as the USAR crews would allow for a much higher frequency of training, ensure staff were safer whilst demonstrating the Authority’s commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees;

Invest to Secure – A USAR specific training facility at Aylesbury would help demonstrate the Authority’s commitment to the National Resilience Assurance Team (NRAT) for providing the capability. The provision of a rig at Aylesbury would also provide an opportunity for the Authority to demonstrate to NRAT that funding provided to support and purchase USAR specific training facilities had been effectively utilised.

A Member asked what were the expected lifespan of the USAR training rig and the ongoing maintenance and inspection costs and was advised that the maintenance costs would be 1 to 2 percent of the budget (£2k-£3k) and the equipment had a lifespan of twenty five years.

A Members asked whether the government had a plan to streamline USAR and would it affect this Authority, the Chairman advised that the investment in equipment showed government that the Authority wanted to keep USAR.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer advised that the ‘New Dimensions’ review was currently underway, the government was currently replacing the DIM (detection investigating and monitoring) vehicles for hazardous materials and other areas around high-volume pumping. USAR would be looked at in 2024. The current view was that the asset refresh would take place and this training rig would put us in a stronger position and enhance our position nationally.

The Chairman advised Members that when Covid-19 restrictions allowed, there would be a Members visit to USAR which she hoped they would all attend.

RESOLVED –

That the business case be approved.

Before closing the meeting, the Chairman again thanked Milton Keynes Council for the use of their Council Chamber for this meeting.

The Chairman closed the meeting at 12.16 PM