The team was initially formed in 2001, before they were called to the scene of an incident for the first time in August 2003 – an eight-pump fire in Ropley involving a wood shaving store!
In the 20 years since the team has attended more than 2,000 incidents and seen lots of developments. They are now responsible for two Command Units, logistics support and resilience to our Control Room.
Over the years the team has been right at the heart of the response to some of the most significant HIWFRS incidents including the fires at University of Southampton (October 2005), Potters Heron (March 2018) and Ocado Andover (February 2019).
The team has also taken on a four-day deployment to Gloucestershire following widescale flooding in July 2007 and an incredible spell in 2014 which saw the team called out 36 days in a row.
Following speeches from some of the team leaders, the attendees were invited to look around the brand-new Command vehicle which is fitted with the state-of-the-art equipment needed to aid our firefighters and commanders managing incidents.
The vehicle was rolled out for the first time for the Oakridge Road fire in May this year.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Glenn Bowyer said:
“We are blessed that our incident command team is full of brilliant people with a diverse range of skills and knowledge.
“Our team members, past and present, have shown incredible dedication over the past 20 years to support our firefighters and Control teams in managing and resolving incidents.
“It isn’t just commitment but a sense of duty. Here’s to the next 20 years!”
The dedicated on-call team is made up of individuals from diverse roles across the organisation including Fire Control, IT, Technical Services and more. They are mobilised to incidents in command vehicles used on the fireground to assist with communications, logistics, accountability and incident management.
Command vehicles were previously crewed by operational firefighters but following the successful introduction 23 years ago of an emergency welfare team who were called to protracted incidents to supply refreshments to crews, then Deputy Chief Fire Officer Alan House had a vision to introduce a specialist crew with a diverse range of skills and abilities that could support fire and rescue operations.
Unlike on-call firefighters who have a 4-5 minute window from being alerted, to leaving the station on the fire engine, the Incident Command Team have a 20-minute turnout time. This extended window allows a wider range of skilled and experienced people the opportunity to crew the unit, ready to arrive on the fireground and play a crucial role in resolving the incident.
The operators are armed with mapping, weather, specialist software and access to the Service’s various systems which can aid fire officers in decision-making when leading briefings with their crews and when working alongside partners to resolve incidents.
