West Sussex Firefighters And Emergency Services Carry Out Training Exercise In Chichester Harbour

Friday, 22 November 2024 12:47

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

Firefighters have completed a joint training exercise with HM Coastguard, RNLI, and Chichester Harbour Masters Team to test their procedures in the event of a serious boat fire in Itchenor.

The mock incident arranged by Chichester Harbour Conservancy, which took place on Sunday 17 November, saw crews respond to a simulated fire on a barge at sea and rescue a person from the engine room.

Crews from Chichester, Selsey, and East Wittering attended the incident alongside HM Coastguard and RNLI.

Anton Mezzone, Station Manager at Chichester Fire Station, said:

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to carry out a training exercise at Chichester Harbour.

“With around 50 miles of coastline in West Sussex, it’s vital that we are able to practice our response to emergency incidents at sea and along the shore.

“This exercise presented a challenging scenario with a barge fire that tested our ability to make critical decisions and work collaboratively under pressure.

"It was fantastic to work with other emergency services and test our preparedness in this environment. I would like to thank everyone involved in making it a success.

“We regularly carry out training drills at fire stations, our training centre, and in the community to ensure that our crews are prepared for all fire and rescue scenarios they may deal with when on duty.”

Ludo Munn, Lead Patrol Officer at Chichester Harbour Conservancy, said:

"We were pleased to organise and participate in this multi-agency exercise.

"It provided an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with emergency services and refine our own emergency response procedures."

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