Shortly after 20:00 on Wednesday 19 October, a freight train carrying cement came off the railway track over the River Petteril in Carlisle. Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service were mobilised to the incident at 21:58, when a Major Incident had been declared.

Working with multi-agency partners, CFRS crews supported a local area search to confirm there were no casualties.

Thankfully, no one was injured at the incident, but the incident has caused disruption on the railway line for some time in both directions impacting all services between Carlisle, Newcastle and Appleby and Skipton.

Colleagues from the British Transport Police and Network Rail continue to work on scene today and over the next few days to identify the cause of the incident and make the railway line safe for use again.

There will be multi-agency debrief session to identify lessons learnt and this learning will be shared with you all.

I'd like to thank all of the crews and officers who attended this incident for your work throughout the evening and the following day. Today we received thanks from a number of partners about your work.

Andy Lee, Area Manager - Safety & Assurance

The cost-of-living rise will continue to have an impact on fire risks in the home, potentially changing them, exaggerating them, or introducing new ones, as well as bringing new people into at-risk groups.

The number of people living in fuel poverty is expected to rise dramatically over the winter months of 2022-2023. By January 2023, more than half of UK households could be in fuel poverty - which is likely to lead to increased fire risk at home. 

The role of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service to support vulnerable households to prevent fire has never been more important.

The National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) have released a new leaflet to support you with communicating our fire safety advice to your local communities.

Remember: please continue to direct members of your community to use our free Online Home Safety tool on our website to assess their own homes.

Craig Drinkald, Area Manager - Service Delivery

This week we have launched access for our Incident Commanders to use Effective Command to assist with their development and CPD as Commanders. 

Further communication about this tool will follow in coming weeks but this is a brief overview of what it is and why you have received login details. 

The Training Portal, which can be accessed via effectivecommand.org features a bank of training videos which are linked and referenced to the applicable UK National Operational Guidance scenarios and can be used as training for the accrual of Incident Commander CPD or Command hours. 

The overall aim of these videos is for them to be used for group or individual training sessions, and focus on key phases in the decision-making sequence, with the purpose of developing the ‘thinking commander’ concept.  Some of the training videos also contain training notes, worksheets and lesson plans which will aid you in getting the most from your training session. 

These videos are also an ideal opportunity to refresh yourself with the relevant Service Instructions, SOPs and any SSRI sites that may be similar to the videos.  I would also recommend that you incorporate the Command Support pack and BA Entry Control Board (where applicable) to your training sessions. 

This is a great development tool for individual learning, table top exercises and group discussion.  If you have any queries or require any support please do not hesitate to get in touch: ICteam@cumbria.gov.uk / 07776296446.

Kasey Grainger, Watch Manager – Learning & Development

Fire Protection are looking to fill a Crew Manager role within the team. The candidate will be responsible for the coordination of Operational Business Engagements, deliver Fire Protection CPD and undertake Fire Safety project work. There will also be an expectation to undertake low – medium risk audits of commercial premises. 

This exciting opportunity is suited to those who are looking to develop their careers in Fire Protection and gain invaluable experience in understanding the build environment.

Expressions of interest are invited from Crew Mangers and Firefighters with OIC skills who either hold or are currently working towards the SFJ Level 3 Diploma in Fire Safety.

If you wish to be considered for this 3-6 month temporary vacancy, please submit an expression of interest containing no less than 400 words of why you feel you would be suited to the role to: phil.stannett@cumbria.gov.uk no later than midnight on 28 October 2022.

Phil Stannett, Station Manager - Fire Protection

The NFCC EDI project are pleased to announce the return of the Lunch & Learn sessions.

This session is for Black History Month and will be hosted by Samantha Samuels from West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service. The session will take place Wednesday 26 October 2022 from 12:00pm - 1:00pm.

Please complete this registration form to confirm your attendance.

NFCC EDI team

On Sunday 16 October, White Watch from Workington and Whitehaven took part in an exercise which involved searching for a missing person along the River Derwent at Clifton. The exercise was a joint effort alongside Maryport In-Shore Rescue. Also in attendance at the incident was WM Adam Walker who provided Command Support from the JICU and SM Martin Slack.

The aim of the incident was to demonstrate the importance of working in a coordinated approach with Category 2 responders to achieve a more logical search of an area of river.

One of the main learning outcomes from a CFRS perspective, was the information that Maryport In-Shore Rescue have available. These include:

• Detailed river level information 24 hours a day
• Detailed boat launching sites throughout the entire length of the River Derwent.

Maryport In-Shore Rescue also had first-hand experience of working within the Command Unit and found that by working closer in the initial stages with ourselves it makes the incident as a whole work a lot smoother and more efficient.

Following a detailed search using personnel from both parties and utilising the Service's boat, the missing person was found.

This exercise was a huge success in building relationships with the Category 2 responders in our Cluster area and the aim is to run quarterly exercises with all Watches.

Kevin Vannet, Watch Manager - Workington/Whitehaven