4 team members travelled over to Rawtenstall fire station today to take part in an exercise organised by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to help prepare for the management of moorland wildfires. This exercise was as part of the existing Lancashire Fire operations group the team sits on.

Unfortunately due to the unexpected snow the fire service vehicles had access problems therefore the practical part of the exercise was postponed to a later date, however the Fire and Rescue service team from Rawtenstall presented their Wildfire plans to those present, and then gave a tour of the resources available to help counter moorland fires.

We returned the favour by demonstrating our control vehicle and in particular our mapping and asset tracking software that the fire service do not currently have access to – which could be particularly useful to assist the fire service in planning and tracking of their fire crews while working on open moorland and help improve their safety.

In attendance today were staff from both Lancs and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services and our MRT colleagues from Bowland Pennine MRT and Rossendale & Pendle MRT were invited but due to the weather canceling the outdoor exercise, did not attend (Bolton MRT were already at the fire station when the decision was made to cancel the exercise).

Thanks to the crew at Rawtenstall for their hospitality and for including us in their session.