Fire Service Goes Through Its Paces on Anti-Terrorist Drill

5.18.22pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 11th Feb 2005

Fire Service Goes Through Its Paces on Anti-Terrorist Drill

Eastleigh and Test Valley fire chief Kevin Evenett showed off the Fire services' readiness for a terrorist emergency today with a demonstration of new decontamination equipment at Eastleigh's Steele Close fire station.

Eastleigh MP David Chidgey and Hampshire MEP Chris Huhne were shown the unit - which is like a super-size garden tent - by young fire officers training on the equipment Richard North and Carl Manners.

Mr Chidgey and Mr Huhne are pictured here (from right) with Mr Manners, Mr North, Mr Evenett, Alec Martin and Anton Phillips, watch manager.

The decontamination units are designed to help anyone who has come in contact with toxic chemicals that may be used in a terrorist 'dirty bomb' and are capable of decontaminating 200 people per hour. There are 81 units country-wide and three in south Hampshire.

In a briefing before the visit, Mr Evenett told the local politicians that the Hampshire fire and rescue service had taken civil emergency preparations very seriously and had had a recent successful exercise to mobilise the service quickly.

The fire service, he said, is also reorganising so that it can stress the importance of prevention rather than just respond once a fire has broken out. The fire service now offers free home fire safety checks for householders and can even install smoke alarms.

"This is a welcome shift of emphasis because many lives could be saved every year by a few simple steps in the home: checking working fire alarms, and ensuring that children are evacuated first. Parents sometimes go downstairs to investigate a fire, open a door, and then fan the flames so much that they cannot get back to save the children" said Mr Huhne.

"Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service deserves full support with its 'Make Hampshire Safer' campaign aiming to reduce deaths from fires by a fifth by 2010" said David Chidgey MP.