Today we were called to Skymark Packaging on the industrial estate. a 15 pump shout. The building was destroyed, even though great efforts were made to save it. As a fire-fighter I would like to thank all the crews that attended, including our neighbouring services. As an ex-employee and Leominster local I would like to express my sadness on the devastation to this company, and the effect it will have on the Skymark community.

The summer is approaching when all stations will get a bit busier, crews will also be going away on holidays. This leads to an obvious shortage of fire-fighter “bums on seats”. We were hopeful that by July the station would have had 3 new recruits, unfortunately none passed the extended recruitment proceedure. Is it that we are attracting the wrong people or is the process wrong? How many established, competent, long serving station members would have managed the process or even bothered to apply?

Its been a couple of weeks since H&W went live with the new Incident Reporting System (IRS). There have been a few niggles but generally its been OK. What do you think? I know it is a pain having to do a report for every job, and the first few have taken a while to complete but the process is becoming quicker.

I am hopeful that the increased data that services nation wide receive from this and other systems will help reduce the more major incidents.

Having been on a days familiarisation I am very pleased with the new M.A.N. pump soon to arrive at Leominster. It is totally different to the SS’s, Rapier, Saber and Leyland from the past. It drivers very differently with its manual gear box with auto changer. What do you think of it?

Leominster Station, like many other retained stations, has a problem recruiting and retaining new firefighters. Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service is currently reviewing the Retained Duty System, the recruitment of firefighters forms a big part of that review. Do the general public and companies within the service area know what the retained do?

Welcome to this new blog for Leominster Fire Service.

What things do you wish to see here? Let us know.