West Midlands Fire Service
Encyclopedia
West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) is the statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of the West Midlands
in England.
The West Midlands Fire Service functions under the control of the "West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority", which is a joint-authority, made up of councillors from the seven local authorities in the West Midlands.
The service was created in 1974 when the West Midlands county came into being. Prior to its creation, each of the county borough
s in the West Midlands area (Birmingham
, Coventry
, Dudley
, Solihull
, Walsall
, Warley
, West Bromwich
and Wolverhampton
) had their own fire brigade. The largest of these brigades was the City of Birmingham Fire Brigade
. The WMFS was created by a merger of these, plus parts of Warwickshire Fire Brigade, and is now the second largest and one of the best-performing fire and rescue teams in the UK.
The service was originally headquartered in the former City of Birmingham Fire Brigade headquarters at Lancaster Circus which were opened on the 2nd of December, 1935 by HRH Duke of Kent
. It is now a Listed building. However, the service moved to purpose built, modern headquarters on Vauxhall Road, Nechells
, with the move commencing in July 2008 (and being completed by the end of November).
Six of the Command Areas are coterminous with the Metropolitan borough
s of the West Midlands county; Birmingham
however is divided into two commands. The full list of Command Areas is as follows:
The fire service has 39 fire station
s, all of which are full-time.
The former fire station at Lancaster Circus was home to the longest fireman's pole in Europe at 40 feet (12 m) in length.
type. The service also operates a number of specialist appliances compromising several hydraulic platforms with up to a 29 metre reach, three specialised command support vehicles equipped with extensive communication and control facilities and now a brand new ISIS remote controlled drone. As well as these, there a number of specialised demountable pods for various roles (Water rescue unit, Environmental Unit, etc.) that are located around at five stations around the county and transported to incidents on the back of a heavy duty prime mover.
The government's New Dimension programme has equipped the brigade with three Incident Response Units, two High Volume Pumping Units, one Detection Identification and Monitoring vehicle along with the Urban Search and Rescue vehicles.
Following the cease of fire appliance chassis manufacture in 2007, Dennis
can no longer supply Sabres to the brigade, prompting the decision to find a new chassis for new appliances. The Volvo FLL 15 chassis was chosen as a suitable replacement for the Dennis Sabre.
12 members of the West Midlands team were deployed as part of the UKISAR (United Kingdom International Search And Rescue) mission to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake
there on January 12, 2010. The team were joined by 2 further members who had been in Sweden as part of a training exercise at the time of the earthquake. The team were involved in the rescue of several people, including two-year old Mia, who had been trapped for over four days.
Cornwall Road, Smethwick - 2009 - 25 Pump Fire, 2 Large Factories fully involved in fire.
Disused Factory, Thimblemill Lane, Nechells - June 1985 - 30 Pump Fire, five-storey factory building destroyed.
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
in England.
The West Midlands Fire Service functions under the control of the "West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority", which is a joint-authority, made up of councillors from the seven local authorities in the West Midlands.
The service was created in 1974 when the West Midlands county came into being. Prior to its creation, each of the county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
s in the West Midlands area (Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, Dudley
County Borough of Dudley
Dudley was a local government district in the English Midlands from 1865 to 1974. It was a municipal borough covering the town of Dudley and became a county borough in 1889. Although completely surrounded by Staffordshire, the borough was associated with Worcestershire for non-administrative...
, Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
, Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, Warley
County Borough of Warley
Warley was a county borough and civil parish forming part of the West Midlands conurbation, England, and geographical county of Worcestershire. It was formed in 1966 by the combination of the existing county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis Warley was a...
, West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
and Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
) had their own fire brigade. The largest of these brigades was the City of Birmingham Fire Brigade
City of Birmingham Fire Brigade
The City of Birmingham Fire Brigade was founded in 1875. In 1895 a new chief officer was appointed, Alfred Robert Tozer . He died in 1906 when he was followed into position by his son Alfred Robert Tozer who continued in the position until 1940...
. The WMFS was created by a merger of these, plus parts of Warwickshire Fire Brigade, and is now the second largest and one of the best-performing fire and rescue teams in the UK.
The service was originally headquartered in the former City of Birmingham Fire Brigade headquarters at Lancaster Circus which were opened on the 2nd of December, 1935 by HRH Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...
. It is now a Listed building. However, the service moved to purpose built, modern headquarters on Vauxhall Road, Nechells
Nechells
Nechells is an area in inner-city Birmingham, England, with a population of 27,969 . It is also a ward within the formal district of Ladywood. Nechells local government ward includes areas, for example parts of Birmingham city centre, which are not part of the historic district of Nechells as such...
, with the move commencing in July 2008 (and being completed by the end of November).
Organisation
The brigade is run under the command of the Chief Fire Officer Vij Randeniya and the Corporate Board, and provides emergency response from 39 strategically located fire stations, divided into eight Command Areas.Six of the Command Areas are coterminous with the Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
s of the West Midlands county; Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
however is divided into two commands. The full list of Command Areas is as follows:
- Birmingham North
- Birmingham South
- CoventryCoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
- DudleyMetropolitan Borough of DudleyThe Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It was created in 1974, and is made up of the towns of Dudley , Stourbridge , Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Amblecote, Sedgley and Coseley...
- SandwellSandwellSandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...
- SolihullMetropolitan Borough of SolihullThe Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, in west-central England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary...
- WalsallMetropolitan Borough of WalsallThe Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a local government district in the Black Country part of the West Midlands, England, with the status of a metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes the towns of Aldridge, Brownhills,...
- WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
Chief Fire Officers
The following people have held the office of Chief Fire Officer:- George Merrell CBE 1974–1975 (Chief Officer of Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service from 1969)
- Tom Lister 1975–1981
- Brian Fuller 1981–1990 (Appointed Commandant of the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-MarshMoreton-in-MarshMoreton-in-Marsh is a town and civil parish in northeastern Gloucestershire, England. The town is at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road and the A44. The parish and environs are relatively flat and low-lying compared with the surrounding Cotswold Hills...
in September 1990) - Graham Meldrum 1990–1998 (Went on to become HerMajesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services)
- Kenneth Knight 1998–2003 (Appointed Commissioner of the London Fire BrigadeLondon Fire BrigadeThe London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for London.Founded in 1865, it is the largest of the fire services in the United Kingdom and the fourth-largest in the world with nearly 7,000 staff, including 5,800 operational firefighters based in 112 fire...
in July 2003) - Frank Sheehan 2003–2008
- Vijith Randeniya OBE 2009–date
Fire Stations
Fire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
s, all of which are full-time.
The former fire station at Lancaster Circus was home to the longest fireman's pole in Europe at 40 feet (12 m) in length.
Fire appliances
West Midlands Fire Service operates over 60 front line fire engines, mainly of the Dennis SabreDennis Sabre
The Dennis Sabre was a purpose-built fire appliance introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, Surrey, England in the mid-1990s. The Sabre comes in three sizes, Sabre, Sabre ML, Sabre XL. Most of the coachbuilding on these chassis were by John Dennis Coachbuilders of Guildford, England....
type. The service also operates a number of specialist appliances compromising several hydraulic platforms with up to a 29 metre reach, three specialised command support vehicles equipped with extensive communication and control facilities and now a brand new ISIS remote controlled drone. As well as these, there a number of specialised demountable pods for various roles (Water rescue unit, Environmental Unit, etc.) that are located around at five stations around the county and transported to incidents on the back of a heavy duty prime mover.
The government's New Dimension programme has equipped the brigade with three Incident Response Units, two High Volume Pumping Units, one Detection Identification and Monitoring vehicle along with the Urban Search and Rescue vehicles.
Following the cease of fire appliance chassis manufacture in 2007, Dennis
Dennis Specialist Vehicles
Dennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...
can no longer supply Sabres to the brigade, prompting the decision to find a new chassis for new appliances. The Volvo FLL 15 chassis was chosen as a suitable replacement for the Dennis Sabre.
Technical Rescue Unit (Urban Search and Rescue)
The West Midland's Technical Rescue Unit is one of the best in the country. Located at Bickenhill fire station, the Technical Rescue Unit operates both the USAR pods and vehicles provided by the government, along with several other vehicles specially purchased by the brigade itself. The unit also boasts a brand new urban search and rescue training rig as well as offering rope and water rescue training, making it the second best USAR training centre in the county (the best being the extensive facilities at the Fire Service College).12 members of the West Midlands team were deployed as part of the UKISAR (United Kingdom International Search And Rescue) mission to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
there on January 12, 2010. The team were joined by 2 further members who had been in Sweden as part of a training exercise at the time of the earthquake. The team were involved in the rescue of several people, including two-year old Mia, who had been trapped for over four days.
Notable Incidents
Shannons Mill, Walsall - 2007 - 25 Pump fire. 3 Storey, listed, former leather tanning workshop.Cornwall Road, Smethwick - 2009 - 25 Pump Fire, 2 Large Factories fully involved in fire.
Disused Factory, Thimblemill Lane, Nechells - June 1985 - 30 Pump Fire, five-storey factory building destroyed.
See also
- Fire service in the United KingdomFire service in the United KingdomThe fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
- West Midlands PoliceWest Midlands PoliceWest Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
- West Midlands Ambulance ServiceWest Midlands Ambulance ServiceThe West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK. It is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts...