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Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service
Fire and rescue service in southern England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is a statutory fire and rescue service covering the area of the ceremonial county of Berkshire in England.[3] The fire service was formerly administered by Berkshire County Council, but when that was abolished the service became the responsibility of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, made up of representatives from the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, and Wokingham Borough Council.
The RBFRS headquarters is located at Newsham Court, Pincents Kiln, in the Reading suburb of Calcot. The service operates from 16 fire stations across Berkshire.
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History
The Berkshire & Reading Fire Brigade was formed in 1948 after the passage of the Fire Services Act 1947, which led control back to brigades in 1948.[3]
The Berkshire & Reading Fire Brigade stayed the same until 1974, when Queen Elizabeth II announced Berkshire was to become a royal county. This was due to the presence of Windsor Castle within the county's boundaries, and as a result, the Berkshire and Reading Fire Brigade changed its name to the Royal Berkshire Fire Brigade.[3] On 1 April 1974, as a result of the Local Government Act 1972 taking effect, the northern parts of Berkshire transferred to neighbouring Oxfordshire, resulting in a reduction of the service's operational area as well as the loss of staff, premises & equipment to the present Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service.
Royal Berkshire Fire Brigade operated under the name until 1985, when the name was changed to Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service and a new service crest was introduced.[3]
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Performance
Every fire and rescue service in England and Wales is periodically subjected to a statutory inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The inspection investigates how well the service performs in each of three areas. On a scale of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service has been rated as follows:
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Fire stations and appliances
The service operates 16 fire stations – 12 of which are crewed by wholetime firefighters and four use retained firefighters.[1]
The community fire station at Theale, which opened in 2021, is also a base for South Central Ambulance Service and Thames Valley Police.[6] It replaced the former Dee Road (Reading) and Pangbourne fire stations.[6]
Wokingham Road fire station in Reading is also home to the Red Cross Fire Emergency Support Service, who have their own specialist vehicle at the station.[7] The Red Cross team are mobilised by RBFRS control staff to respond to people affected by incidents such as fire or flood.[8] Established in Berkshire in 1993,[8] they can provide food, clothing, and arrange emergency accommodation.[7]
Notable incidents
- 1992 Windsor Castle fire – 20–21 November 1992: A work light set a curtain alight inside Windsor Castle, and after workers on site had tried to put the fire out, RBFRS was alerted by Windsor Castle of the fire inside the building, with the first appliances arriving on scene at 11:44 am. During the duration of the fire, around 36–39 pumping appliances and seven specialist appliances attended the scene, with 225 firefighters and 35 officers tackling the fire and also aided the military to help bring out books, carpets and artefacts to safety. After nine hours, the fire was declared under control at 8:00 pm, and was fully extinguished at 2:30 am after over 15 hours.[9]
- Swinley Forest wildfires – May 2011: RBFRS were assisted by 12 neighbouring fire services, including the London Fire Brigade, the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and the West Midlands Fire Service, when Swinley Forest set alight as a result of a combination of dry weather conditions and arson. This was later found to have damaged 300 hectares (740 acres) of land.[10]
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See also
References
External links
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