First name
Catherine
Last name
Bloomfield
Organisation name
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service
Type of member
Local/Public Authority
Describe your organisation
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) protects and serves the entire population of Northern Ireland, an area of over 5,500 square miles and with a population of 1.81 million, providing them with a range of fire and rescue services.
We respond to fires, road traffic collisions and other emergencies including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents, search and rescue incidents, serious flooding and serious transport incidents. We provide a range of community engagement initiatives to help keep people safe from the dangers of fire and the other types of incidents that we respond to.
As an organisation we have a statutory responsibility to ensure that we are equipped and trained to effectively release people from collisions when they occur on our roads. This statutory duty therefore greatly influences our prioritisation of activities and places the focus heavily upon intervention. This includes the provision of equipment, the training of our staff and, where necessary, improved medical skills to sustain casualties until the arrival of the Ambulance Service.
That being said we also recognise the importance of educating road users on the consequences of RTCs. The introduction of our Road Accidents, Consequences and Education (R.A.C.E.) Scheme, our community engagement activities and our contribution to Road Safety Week each year, have provided us with the platform necessary to target the most vulnerable road users on our roads and to deliver our key road safety messages.
We recognise that no agency can be solely responsible for reducing the number and impact of RTCs; consequently, our focus is to embed our approach within the ethos of partnership working with other agencies involved in road safety, and to provide a strategic commitment to this issue.
By working with other agencies we aspire to achieve zero road deaths and serious injuries, we will therefore continue to prepare our emergency response personnel for all potential RTC rescue scenarios, and we will respond with appropriately trained and equipped crews as quickly as possible to carry out rescues and make scenes safe.
We respond to fires, road traffic collisions and other emergencies including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents, search and rescue incidents, serious flooding and serious transport incidents. We provide a range of community engagement initiatives to help keep people safe from the dangers of fire and the other types of incidents that we respond to.
As an organisation we have a statutory responsibility to ensure that we are equipped and trained to effectively release people from collisions when they occur on our roads. This statutory duty therefore greatly influences our prioritisation of activities and places the focus heavily upon intervention. This includes the provision of equipment, the training of our staff and, where necessary, improved medical skills to sustain casualties until the arrival of the Ambulance Service.
That being said we also recognise the importance of educating road users on the consequences of RTCs. The introduction of our Road Accidents, Consequences and Education (R.A.C.E.) Scheme, our community engagement activities and our contribution to Road Safety Week each year, have provided us with the platform necessary to target the most vulnerable road users on our roads and to deliver our key road safety messages.
We recognise that no agency can be solely responsible for reducing the number and impact of RTCs; consequently, our focus is to embed our approach within the ethos of partnership working with other agencies involved in road safety, and to provide a strategic commitment to this issue.
By working with other agencies we aspire to achieve zero road deaths and serious injuries, we will therefore continue to prepare our emergency response personnel for all potential RTC rescue scenarios, and we will respond with appropriately trained and equipped crews as quickly as possible to carry out rescues and make scenes safe.