SWS UK Supports Fire Service with 30,000 Hours and 250 Call Outs

For the past 7 years SWS UK has proudly been supporting Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service with emergency support by providing retained firefighting staff to assist with incidents within the Lune Valley, North Yorkshire border and even locations in Cumbria when required.

The security and garage door manufacturer, which is based in Claughton, currently has three employees who have been specially trained to aid the fire service in the event of emergency call outs from the fire station based in Hornby. Ben Laycock who is SWS UK’s Product Development Engineer and Stuart Leeming who is a Production Supervisor have in total provided 10 years of relief service and have contributed to a total of 260 incidents attended by SWS UK employees. More recently, Ben’s brother Tom Laycock, who was already a member of the retained firefighters has now been employed within the company’s Commercial Shutter department.

SWS UK’s Managing Director Colin Reoch told us ‘as one of the area’s biggest employers, we are delighted that we are able to support the fire service and the community during emergency situations and are extremely proud of Ben, Stuart and Tom for proving themselves to be such valuable assets to the team at Hornby fire station. We will continue to do all we can to support them in the amazing work they do’.

A call-out to SWS UK’s trained employees can be made at any time and can be anything from a minor incident to a full-scale emergency. Once such incident was the major fire at The Megazone site in Morecambe in June 2014, which necessitated the help of 50 firefighters, 9 pumps, a mobile fire station and an aerial ladder platform. SWS UK appreciate the urgency of the call outs and have put a number of procedures in place to ensure the swift transition from SWS UK employee to Firefighter without delay or obstruction.

To qualify as a retained firefighter, both Ben and Stuart had to undertake an intense recruitment process which included an ICT exam and a strenuous bleep test, where a minimum score of 8.6 was required. Due to the diverse demands of the role, it was essential for all new recruits to demonstrate evidence of team work, self-discipline and excellent communication skills. It is also necessary that they possess a commitment to equality and an empathetic nature, especially when dealing with members of the public. After a successful application both Ben and Stuart were delighted to be welcomed into the Lancashire Fire & Rescue team.

Ben, who is a Crew Manager told us a little bit about his role within the fire service ‘whilst my role during a call out can vary, I am usually in charge of coordinating my crew and ensuring they carry out my instructions in response to the incident. Once a more senior officer has arrived on scene, I am able to pass over the responsibility of being in charge. At this point, I assist by acting as an Operations Commander, Sector Commander or BA (breathing apparatus) Board Supervisor, or even just another member of the crew. If the Watch Manager is on call, I could potentially be in the back of the fire appliance (known to us as a pump) assisting them with organising the crew or in the event of a Breathing Apparatus incident, take responsibility of the BA team within the risk area (e.g. a building or car on fire, chemical fire or toxic environment)

SWS UK are also benefitting from two employees who now possess an additional specialist skillset. Ben and Stuart assisted in completing the company’s fire risk assessment, and in addition to providing refresher first aid training to other employees, they are also trained to trauma level first aid should such treatment ever be required.

Andy Jones, the Retained Support Officer for Hornby Fire Station commented on the partnership between SWS UK and the fire service; ‘Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service recognises the support and continued commitment from SWS UK, allowing Ben, Stuart and Tom to respond to emergency call outs for crewing the fire appliance at Hornby. They are part of a dedicated crew who live and work in a rural area and will crew the fire appliance within 5 minutes to deal with any emergency within the local community. We offer our thanks and appreciation to the directors/management team at SWS for maintaining this vital partnership’

SWS UK is committed to maintaining their established relationship with the Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service and to date, they have supported their firefighters in providing 29,120 hours of cover, which equates to almost three and a half years.