Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service practices safely extracting casualties from vehicle collisions at Silverlake’s Shedfield site  

Silverlake Automotive Recycling [Silverlake] provided salvage vehicles and its vehicle recycling site in Shedfield as a safe training environment for Hampshire Fire & Rescue Services earlier this month. Crew from Botley Fire Station had the opportunity to practice their vital skills at the scene of road traffic collisions [RTCs]. A realistic simulation of an RTC using salvage vehicles took place at night, adding the challenge of darkness to the exercise, which involved scene assessment, teamwork and the use of specialist tools to cut through vehicles in order to safely and swiftly extract casualties.  

The team had received in station theoretical and practical training from a specialist Road Traffic Collision Trainer, and the simulation at Silverlake gave them the opportunity to bring the training together and apply it practically through start to finish of the exercise.  Formal assessments also took place to ensure the team are competent and safe to carry out this work when called upon.

Stuart Mangan, Watch Manager at Botley Fire Station, said: 

“I would like to thank all the team at Silverlake for allowing us the opportunity to utilise their salvage vehicles and venue for what is a critical and valuable opportunity for us to train and hone our skills regarding road traffic collisions. We hope we never have to use these skills for real, but we know too well that we do get called upon. These skills, rigorously practised in a safe environment, get put to good use with the ultimate aim of protecting and preserving life.”

Allen Prebble, managing director at Silverlake Automotive Recycling, said: 

“As a regional community, we rely on and owe a debt of gratitude to Hampshire Fire & Rescue Services, who work hard to keep us safe; rising to challenges in sometimes dangerous circumstances. To be able to help by providing the vehicles and local facilities for simulated training exercises at our site is an honour. We will continue to offer this support and are exploring how we might assist further. Silverlake has been based in this area for 77 years, and we are committed to giving back to the community that has supported our business over the years.”  

Following the Silverlake RTC simulation, Botley Fire Station is in talks with neighbouring stations to discuss organising training involving a more complex multi-vehicle accident, requiring dynamic incident command and control and multi-agency working, potentially with partners from the ambulance service. This scenario could support both road traffic collision skills and medical treatment training.