A world force in fire service and emergency response training
The Fire Service College, based at Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, in the UK, is an awardwinning world-leader in fire and emergency
response training.
We specialise in dedicated training for professional fire services, emergency responders and a wide spectrum of clients worldwide, including the petrochemical industry and marine firefighters.
We offer a wide range of flexible training solutions to meet your needs and are one of the world’s largest operational fire and rescue training colleges in the world, with a global brand and reputation for excellence.
Our international training activity supports national and international government and private sector resilience and we deliver training at all levels internationally, supporting individual career progression – from trainee recruit firefighting through to advanced command and control training.
Delivering training both ‘in country’, at suitable overseas venues and on site, at our unique incident ground facilities in the UK, the College supports the needs of fire and rescue services, emergency responders as well as a wide spectrum of clients in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.
Training is tailored to individual requirements or selected from our extensive training portfolio and includes all aspects of leadership, civil resilience, train the trainer, Hazardous Materials (Hazmat), Urban Search & Rescue (USAR), incident command and hot fire training, as well as specialist operations and recruit development.
Throughout its history the College has been at the forefront of innovation – whether it is in specialist operations, HazMats, USAR, or even the latest thinking on fire engineering and safety.
We continually update our rigs and our training, which is designed to develop operational command techniques and bring about the effective management of incidents at all levels.
Today, the College even works as a consultant, advising clients on how to improve the performance of their fire service or fire operation.
Whether you work in one of the many fire services spread across the globe, hold fire responsibilities in business and industry (petrochemical, hazardous goods, manufacturing ), or have an emergency management or fire safety role, the College can design bespoke programmes to develop you and your organisation.
It can even bring its expertise to you, outside the UK, in the form of offsite programmes, covering all areas of its operation. The College sums up its credentials simply – Unrivalled Experience, Unequalled Expertise.
Stephen Copley, Director of Business Development at the College, gives his view on what sets us apart: “The College has the unique ability to advise on most, if not all, aspects of the fire and emergency response environment and the effective operation of such organisations.
In addition to providing cutting-edge training, the College can also
benchmark organisations against internationally-recognised standards, design and recommend strategic improvement plans and even manage the implementation of the resultant change programmes.
We are an organisation geared to driving operational improvement for all our clients.” Unparalleled resources Just imagine a day-to-day incident that needs sound theory and plenty of practice to get your response right each and every time.
Or imagine the unthinkable, that might never actually happen but yet still could – a major incident where it is essential to scope out incident plans, train people in their implementation, and practise to get it right.
Envisage what could be achieved if you had all of the facilities shown below at your disposal. The College’s unique incident ground provides the backdrop for the most realistic, contextualised scenarios.
These resources, accompanied by the College’s knowledge of best operating practice and its virtual reality simulator, can be combined to design a programme specific to each client and their own individual
requirements.
Derek Luff, Business Development Manager at the College, says:
“We can replicate almost anything. Our scenarios are very realistic, yet there’s a high degree of safety and control. We have numerous buildings that we can set fire to and a couple we can smoke up.
There are aircraft that we can set up for various kinds of fire and rescue scenarios, as well as an oil rig and a ship. We are proud of our incident command simulation suite that provides delegates with full immersion at tactical and strategic levels, testing emergency plans,
resilience and operational procedures. We can also simulate a multitude of different expressway scenarios on our railway track and level crossing, roundabout and perimeter and access roads.”
‘The colleges unique incident ground provides the backdrop for the most realistic, contextualised scenarios’
Unequalled expertise
To match the extent of the College’s practical resources, we also
provide a wealth of expertise and knowledge, with an instructor
team that has an insight into the practical application of both general
and essential concepts down to individual specialised areas.
Take, for example, fire engineering and fire safety where specialisms are covered in great depth, including fire investigation, industrial and domestic fire protection systems, high rise building risks, building regulations and even smoke control.
These as well as the more general foundations of fire safety, fire risk assessment and fire legislation, are blended together for each client. So whether it is a requirement for training for experienced or inexperienced practitioners, with general or specific needs, a programme is tailored to meet all these requirements.
The practical emphasis of the College’s approach to learning and development comes with its aim to ensure that the training provided can be immediately applied once back in the workplace.
This is because it is delivered by leading professionals drawn from
fire and rescue services throughout the UK and guarantees that
training is as up-to-date as it is hands-on, applying equally to all
subject areas on offer:
Responding to new threats
With the increasing risk of global threats, fire services, civil defence forces and fire organisations across the world are having to re-examine the traditional ways of doing things to see how they match up to the new demands placed on them by a changing world.
Often this requires reviewing how effective they are at command and control, operational mobilisation and resource management, together with their operations that prevent fire and support core activities (procurement, finance and IT etc).
This is a complex and time consuming task, which is the reason why the College has recently been asked to undertake this type of study for several clients.
Global reach
A significant proportion of the College’s activity is taken directly to the client throughout the UK and overseas with the outreach programme.
The Fire Service College visits clients on their own sites, using the equipment they use every day, working in their local environment.
Exercises, case studies and simulations can be tailored to specific practices, with each programme designed uniquely to the client’s organisation.
The popularity of this form of training delivery has resulted in the College building an international customer base that spans the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, South East Asia and the Caribbean. Equally there is still a demand for international customers to visit Moreton-in-Marsh and take advantage of its unique facilities, learning alongside the College’s UK delegates.
Regardless of whether training is delivered offsite or through clients coming to the College, we are keen to keep in touch, offering ongoing help and support. Training and consultancy is a two-way street – whether it’s a new development, a fresh insight or an operational improvement, we are keen to promote the sharing of best practice and the continuous raising of standards for the College and its clients.
To find out more information about what the Fire Service College
can offer you, visit our website at: www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk
