National Resilience Centre of Excellence opened on Merseyside

The Centre of Excellence will be used to co-ordinate the national response from Fire and Rescue Services to large-scale events by equipping firefighters with the training and skills they need to respond to these types of incidents whenever and wherever they occur.

Facilities at the site include immersive and realistic training zones such as a six-storey high-rise building, a row of terraced houses, a motorway setting, specialist vehicle garages, a High-Volume Pump training area, a rubble pile for Search and Rescue-focused training and a suite of practical training classrooms.

A purpose-built Command and Control suite enables training to take place for a range of incidents, simulating small-scale episodes right through to major incidents involving multiple agencies.

The new Centre of Excellence will host the National Resilience Assurance Team, UK International Search and Rescue and National Resilience Fire Control. There are six specialist capabilities making up the work of National Resilience: Urban Search and Rescue, Detection, Identification and Monitoring/Mass Decontamination, High-Volume Pump, Marauding Terrorist Attack Specialist Response, Enhanced Logistics Support and Flood Response.

During an event to mark the opening of the new Centre of Excellence, guests including Government partners, chief fire officers and Fire and Rescue Service leaders from across the UK were shown simulated scenarios such as catastrophic building collapse, a marauding terrorist attack, mass decontamination and a significant fire in a multi-storey building.

Lead authority

Since 2016, the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service has acted as the lead authority on National Resilience on behalf of the Home Office and been responsible for the mobilisation, co-ordination and monitoring of National Resilience assets in response to significant, serious or catastrophic incidents.

National Resilience capabilities are also spread across the UK in accordance with the National Security Risk Assessment.

Phil Garrigan, chief fire officer for the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, stated: “The establishment of the National Resilience Centre of Excellence here on Merseyside acknowledges the contribution that the Fire and Rescue Service makes every day and marks a significant milestone in our ambition to further enhance the response to national emergencies, in turn ensuring the safety and security of communities across the country.”

Garrigan continued: “I’m genuinely thrilled that the Merseyside Fire Authority and the Home Office, alongside the National Fire Chiefs Council, had the foresight to see what was possible and took the courageous decision to support this vision, creating a lasting legacy and one which recognises the vital role played by the Fire and Rescue Services in a wide range of incidents.”

Significant advancement

National Fire Chief Council chair Mark Hardingham noted: “The launch of the National Resilience Centre of Excellence marks a significant advancement in our capacity to train and prepare firefighters for the most challenging and catastrophic events, among them those due to the effect of climate change, flooding, wildfires and conflict, whether through terror or the increasing risk of war.”

Further, Hardingham said: “This unique facility, delivered on Merseyside in collaboration with every Fire and Rescue Service in the UK, will ensure our firefighters are exceptionally well prepared to protect the public and further strengthen our National Resilience framework.”

Dame Diana Johnson DBE enthused: “Congratulations to the National Resilience Assurance Team and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, who have brought this bold vision to life through their ongoing dedication and commitment to public safety.”

Johnson explained: “This facility will go a long way towards making our communities safer and ensure that our brave firefighters are trained to the highest standards in order to continue their heroic efforts in saving lives.”

In conclusion, Johnson said: “This marks the beginning of meaningful improvements to Fire and Rescue Services across the country. I’m looking forward to building strong relationships with the sector in order to drive change and consistency within all communities.”