A NEWTON Abbot garage recently welcomed the town’s firefighters for the crews latest training night.

A weekly affair, the crew from Newton Abbot Fire Station made the short trip to CR Motor Engineers on Monday, May 12 for a Breathing Apparatus (BA) focused session.

Mobilised from the towns station along The Avenue via the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service control room as though it were a real incident, the only information provided was that an industrial unit was on fire in the area.

One of the station’s crew managers played the role of an emotional and combative member of staff, who informed the Incident Commander (IC) that three adults and a child were still within the building, which had filled with smoke.

The IC quickly deployed two firefighters wearing BA into the building, instructing them to search the building starting on the left-hand wall.

A second team of another two firefighters soon followed.

This team started their search heading in the opposite direction, starting on the right-hand wall.

Both teams took a hose reel each in order to replicate a real fire incident.

Newton Abbot Fire Station said: ‘Even though the casualties were located in awkward places throughout the building, and that the training staff smoked out the property to provide zero visibility, all four casualties had been rescued from the building in an impressive time of just under 20 mins from time of arrival.

‘All of the crews worked really hard during the training scenario and acted with the professionalism and determination expected of them when these incidents occur for real.

‘All of us here at Newton Abbot Fire Station would like to provide a massive thank you to CR Motor Engineers for allowing us to train within their premises.

‘Being able to train off station allows crews to truly hone their skills and practice their techniques in unfamiliar environments, all in preparation for when real emergencies occur.’