Form that start, much work has been done and the LFB have since (over a 2/3 year period) issued specialist forced entry equipment to stations.
The Press release in 2005
Date: 22 September 2005
Forced entry equipment
Funding for specialist forced entry equipment and the training of firefighters in its use was agreed following successful trials at four fire stations.
Nearly £215,000 will be spent over three years to 2007/2008 on the equipment and training with a further commitment of £61,388 each year from 2008/2009 onwards.
An increased level of security in domestic properties prompted a review of the methods and equipment used by firefighters to gain entry during incidents.
The money will enable crews to gain faster entry into properties on fire where people could be trapped inside. Results of the trials indicate that wider use of the new equipment could help the Authority reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by fire and minimise damage to property.
During a six-month pilot at Bethnal Green, Feltham, Peckham and Kingsland fire stations three types of forced entry equipment - including a handheld battering ram and a hand operated hydraulic pump and spreading tool - were used by firefighters at 41 incidents.
Entry times to premises were significantly improved with this achieved in less than a minute in 28 out of the 41 occasions and in all but three occasions in under four minutes.
The average time for crews to gain entry using traditional methods is around three to five minutes.
Crews using the new equipment reported it enabled a quicker attack on fires and damage to properties was reduced. This meant that premises could be left secure, the time crews and appliances spent at incidents was reduced and disruption to victims of fire was minimised.
Because entry was more controlled, the new equipment also reduced the risk posed to firefighters from backdraft.
Eighteen stations will get the new equipment and training this year, 50 in 2006/07 and the final 44 stations in 2007/08.
