All Northamptonshire fire engines to carry haemorrhage control packs following Manchester Arena Inquiry

Every fire appliance in Northamptonshire will now carry specialist haemorrhage control packs – and crews will be trained in their use to help casualties at the scene of an incident.

The move is just one of a programme of measures that has been or will be implemented to meet the recommendations of the Manchester Arena Inquiry, published last week (November 3).

The Manchester Arena Inquiry report carried recommendations for all fire and rescue services to follow. In Northamptonshire, a joint working group from Police and Fire is meeting to oversee the implementation of any changes in practice or improvements that are necessary.

Assistant chief fire officer Rob Porter said: “The Manchester Arena bombing was a horrendous incident, and my thoughts are with all the families of those who lost their lives or were injured on that day. We are all committed to learning the lessons of this inquiry and in improving the way emergency services respond to such incidents.

“In Northamptonshire, we have been working together more closely since 2015 and now share joint response plans and share many areas of emergency preparedness and exercising. We will be working jointly with our police colleagues to consider and implement the learning from the Manchester Arena Inquiry to ensure our interoperability with our emergency service partners is as effective as it can be.”

Since the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has made changes in its approach to training and planning for a major incident, and in co-ordinating response with other agencies. This includes ensuring all fire commanders are trained, qualified and exercise regularly in working with other agencies to respond to large-scale incidents.

Other measures NFRS has implemented

-A Joint Operations Team between Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service to ensure joined up planning and preparation for incidents

-Joined up response plans and shared approach to dealing with emergencies with police

-A programme of regular exercises to improve training and ensure learning from exercises is put into place