Firefighters from Newcastle Airport have completed a series of training sessions on the new Tyne and Wear Metro trains. This will ensure they are familiarised with them in the event of an emergency at the airport terminal.
All four of the Airport’s watches have now completed the training. Nexus said the aim was to familiarise the firefighters with all aspects of the new trains in line with the training it provides to other local emergency services on a regular basis.
Key areas of the training included the carriage layout, fire detection, emergency access points to and from the driver’s cab and the carriage saloon area, braking distances, power supply, battery locations, emergency alarm and intercom systems, jacking points, and the location of fire extinguishers and defibrillators.
Paul Taylor, Learning and Development Specialist at Nexus, said: “This is an essential programme of training and familiarisation with the new Metro train fleet that we’ve delivered with all of the fire fighters at Newcastle Airport.
“It’s important that they know the layout, emergency systems and access points on the Stadler train so that they can react effectively in the unlikely event an emergency situation should arise at the airport.
“The new trains are vastly different, so we built this in this programme of emergency service familiarisation. We’ve already delivered the same course to our colleagues in Northumbria Police and the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. We plan to update our colleagues at the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS).
“Working with our local blue light services is absolutely critical for us.”
There is a team of more than 40 highly skilled and experienced firefighters based at Newcastle Airport. They are trained to deal with a wide range of emergencies, including aircraft incidents, fires and medical emergencies.
Tony Fatkin, Fire Service Manager at Newcastle Airport’s Rescue and Fire Fighting Service, said: “Safety is always our top priority, which is why continual training and preparation are such an important part of the work we carry out every day.
“It has been fantastic to work alongside Nexus to familiarise our teams with the new trains and gain a detailed understanding of their systems.
“While we hope these skills are never needed, this training ensures our firefighters are fully prepared to respond quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency, helping to keep Airport and Metro passengers, our people and our operations safe.”