The teams took part in a multi-vehicle road traffic collision training exercise on Tuesday evening at the Silverlake site near Botley.
The complex scenario saw six on-call teams challenged with rescuing three casualties trapped inside the wreckage.
Of the four vehicles involved, one was chosen to be electric, testing their knowledge of the latest procedures with dealing with these modern cars.
The firefighters will then be tested on their medical skills as they assess and treat the extricated casualties.
Watch Manager Rob Barrow said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity to not just test our on-call team’s RTC techniques, but also their medical care skills.
“How firefighters deal with electric vehicle incidents is a fast-moving subject. As the technology advances, so must our knowledge and procedures.
“Without Silverlake’s support we wouldn’t be able to test the skills of our firefighters in realistic, challenging scenarios, and on the actual vehicles that our teams find out on the roads at real incidents.”
The Silverlake team were presented with a certificate of appreciation for their continued support to the organisation.
Steve Diaper, Operations Manager at Silverlake Automotive Recycling said:
“To be able to help Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service by providing the vehicles and local facilities for simulated training exercises at our site is an honour.
“It is great to be facilitating this second, larger and even more involved, training exercise at our site this year. We will continue to offer this support and explore how we might assist further in the future.
“Silverlake has been based in this area for 77 years and we are committed to giving back to the community that has supported our business over the years. As a regional community, we all rely on and owe a debt of gratitude to HIWFRS who work hard to keep us safe; rising to challenges in sometimes dangerous circumstances.”
Our on-call support officers have worked closely with the HIWFRS Learning and Development team to provide a realistic training environment in which our crews gain valuable experience and practice their skills.
On-call Support Officer, Neal Paddington said:
“It’s exciting to form a partnership with Silverlake and have the opportunity to train outside of our weekly drill nights at such a fantastic venue.
“As on-call teams this additional training opportunity allows the crews to enhance their skills and practice new techniques in particular around incidents involving electric and Hybrid vehicles.
“Watch Manager Rob Barrow and his team have been working hard to develop the way in which we deal with incidents involving Electric Vehicles and this training opportunity allows our crews to put these new procedures into action in a realistic multi vehicle scenario.”
If you are interested in becoming an on-call firefighter, please head to our website to find out more.
