Statutory fire and rescue service
One of Norfolk's Heavy Rescue Units
Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Norfolk in the east of England. The county consists of around 870,100 people and 2,074 square miles (5,370 km2).[2]
Headquarters
The headquarters of Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service is Jubilee House, Falconers Chase, Wymondham, Norfolk. The former headquarters, Whitegates, was commandeered for use by the National Fire Service during the Second World War and was eventually purchased by Norfolk County Council in 1950. The building was built as a family home in the late eighteenth century and has had various owners over the years. New building at the rear of the original house in recent times has replaced the coach house and stables of earlier times.
Appliances
NFRS operates a range of firefighting appliances, which includes:
- 30 rescue pumps: the standard firefighting vehicle mobilised to all emergency calls. These appliances are equipped with a high-pressure two-stage main pump also capable of making foam via an onboard foam inductor system, two high-pressure hose reels, a set of rescue ladders, a light portable fire pump, four / six breathing apparatus sets (depending on age), two spare breathing air cylinders and hydraulic rescue equipment, as well as other miscellaneous tools.[4]
- 4 heavy rescue pumps: very similar to the rescue pump, however more emphasis on rescue operations and incidents.[4]
- 24 water tenders: similar to the rescue pump but with less rescue equipment.[4]
- 3 aerial ladder platforms: extendible ladder platforms with rescue cages, stretchers and additional lighting, these vehicles provide high-level access and firefighting capability, with a vertical reach of almost 100 ft, almost 80 ft sideways, and up to 55 ft below ground level.[4]
Incidents
In 2014–15, NFRS attended 7,285 incidents where 749 people were rescued and 63 fatalities. Mainly consisting of 2,143 fires, 2,809 special services – road traffic collisions (RTC) and other – and 2,333 false alarms which required no further action. The service have noticed a reduction in the number of fires they attend, however an increasing response to RTC incidents on Norfolk's roads.[1]
Notable incidents
Norwich Assembly Rooms fire 1995
Roy's of Wroxham fire (1995)
Norwich library fire (1994)
- 1991 Thetford – Plastic recycling centre. A large fire which burned for four days[5]
- 1994 Norwich – Norwich library destroyed by fire. The main fire station of Norwich was opposite the library but the crews were already out attending what turned out to be a malicious call. Due to the dramatic spread of the fire the building could not be saved[6]
- 1995 Wroxham – a ten-hour blaze in a department store[7]
- 2011 Great Yarmouth – four men killed in industrial accident; nine fire crews attended[8]
- 2013 Norwich – eleven people injured in low speed train crash at Norwich railway station. The signal box was not alerted to the accident for 24 minutes[9][10]
- 2014 Fakenham – 90 firefighters attended a fire in a department store[11]
- 2016 Great Yarmouth – 20 plus appliances and 88 fire crews attend large fire on Regent road inside Regent Arcade and Super Bowl UK Regent. Building destroyed.[12]
