Firefighters commended for their courageous and professional service
Warwickshire firefighters called to assist with the Buncefield Oil Depot fire, were presented with a certificate today by the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Councillor Richard Hobbs on behalf of Dacorum Borough Council.
Firefighters from Coleshill were called to assist with one of the largest fires since the Second World War on the morning of December 11 2005. Initially crews were asked to mobilise the foam tender unit, which carries 4,000 litres of foam. However, once crews arrived they knew that Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service would need more assistance than just the use of their foam tender.
Sub officer, Frank Brown said:
“Once we arrived at the Buncefield site, we knew that Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service would need all of the support they could get. We have all trained for scenes like this, but I don’t think that anything could prepare you for an emergency of this scale. Hundreds of firefighters were at the site and all of them were working day and night to keep the incident under control. Firefighters from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service worked 12-hour shifts at Buncefield and still managed to keep crews on the run at Coleshill.
Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Cllr Richard Hobbs said:
“I am immensely proud of the firefighters at Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service for the job they did at both Buncefield and Coleshill. This was an operation of national mobilisation and resources were requested from fire authorities across the country. Our firefighters not only rose to this challenge, but they also felt trained and competent to deal with a major emergency and were able to provide specialist advice on how the new foam tender could be used more effectively to fight the fire.”
To mark the role they played in this incident Dacorum Borough Council has commended Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service on behalf of the people of Dacorum for the professional and courageous manner in which they helped to tackle the Buncefield Oil Depot fire.