Web
exclusive interview |  | "Our
role has expanded out of all recognition over the last few years." Paul Hayden,
Chief Fire Officer |
Behind the
scenes... We asked Paul Hayden, Hereford
and Worcester's Fire Chief, to tell us more about the work of his flood fighters
in this Q & A interview. Q. How
easy or hard it has been for fire fighters to adjust to learning new skills to
deal with flood fighting? A.
Fire fighters have always been involved with environmental disasters such as floods,
using the fire engines we have to fight fires to pump flood water away. Also
we've always been involved in assisting as best we can in any rescues, even though
we did not have any specialist equipment or training for water emergencies.
However, our role has expanded out of all recognition over the last few years
as we have made the change from being a simple "Fire Brigade", to a
true "Fire and Rescue Service" that is trained and equipped to respond
to a wide range of disasters that now threaten our communities.
Our specialist
water rescue teams have undergone very extensive training to ensure that they
can operate safely and save lives in the most extreme conditions. The work
is very physical, but also involves a lot of technical knowledge on subjects as
diverse as hydrology, so that fire fighters can "read" the water conditions
to judge whether there are hidden dangers, or physics to understand the impact
of moving water on vehicles and structures during a flood.
Q.
What type of situations have come up since they filmed the original TV feature?
A.
2006 saw a record number of flash floods in the Midlands and we are seeing an
ever increasing number of people requiring rescue from inland water ways, both
due to flooding and due to increased leisure use of our rivers and canals. A
particular concern is the growing number of people who become trapped in their
vehicles trying to drive through floodwater, a phenomenon we know from research
causes the majority of flood deaths in the USA.
Q.
Tell us about the new kit and equipment needed by the force to tackle flood fighting...
A.
Our High Volume Water Pumps have made a real difference to our ability to move
large volumes of water across considerable distances.  | | New
rescue equipment and pumps are now a feature |
We can use these
to protect vital infrastructure, such as hospitals or electrical sub stations
or provide water for fire fighting. They have already proven themselves
during the Carlisle floods and last year's Bunsfield Oil Refinery fire. Some
of the other rescue equipment used in inland water events differs considerably
from that used for water rescue at sea. For example, our boat design has
to consider the significant risk of damaging hulls on submerged obstructions such
as street signs in the urban environment or barbed wire fences in rural areas.
Q. Are there any comparisons with the USA
situation and what have you leaned from experiences overseas?
A.
I have just completed a 14 month national research project on behalf of the UK
Chief Fire Officers' Association (CFOA) looking at the way we can respond to environmental
disasters in the future.
A key part of that research has been to examine
the way the USA responds to the floods bought about by hurricanes.  | | Face
of the future - flooding in our towns and cities? |
We quickly
identified that some states, such as North Carolina, had learnt some vital lessons
from past tragedies and developed world class response and recovery arrangements.
Unfortunately, during the project Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that these
lessons had not been acted upon across the whole of the USA.
We are not
prepared to wait for our own "Katrina" to happen in the UK before we
act. North Carolina's flood response programme was probably 10 years ahead
of the UK when we commenced our project, but, we are now catching up fast and
offering them a number of new ideas. By sharing our experiences, communities
both sides of the Atlantic will be safer from whatever the environment throws
at us in the future. | 
Inside
Out - West Midlands: Friday February 2, 2007
