Fire and police collaborate on driver training

Humberside FRS crestHumberside Police has joined forces with Humberside Fire and Rescue Services to deliver shared training to their drivers.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service’s driver training team is now operating out of the force’s training centre at Courtland Road in Hull, following the need to re-locate due to the rebuilding of Clough Road Fire Station, which has now commenced.

In addition to the co-locating, the two services have also worked in partnership in other areas with Humberside Police driver trainers providing training to the fire and rescue instructors in Roadcraft and fire vehicles loaned to police driver training free of charge.

Under Section 19 of the Road Safety Act 2006, it has also become a requirement that all staff using blue lights must be assessed every five years as a minimum, which by co-locating means resources can be better shared along with best practices. This is due to be fully implemented in April.

Assistant Chief Officer for Human Resources at Humberside Police, Ian Watson, said, “I believe this is a prime example of collaborating with other emergency services allowing both organisations to save money at a time when it is most needed.”

Dene Sanders, Deputy Chief Fire Officer of Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, said, “In these challenging times, we are very keen to explore opportunities which help us deliver a more cost effective organisation. Sharing premises with the police to operate our driver training function is one of the many ways we are looking to reduce cost across the service.”