Watch firefighters battle through rubble as new training facility helps them rescue people from collapsed buildings

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) have completed construction of a network of chambers that are the first of their kind in the entire country and we were invited into the rubble to see what it was all about.

The training aid sees a number of pods connected by 180ft of concrete pipework that are then covered in rubble.

The huge structure simulates the scene of a real-life disaster and is at the TWFRS Training Centre, located at their Headquarters site in Barmston Mere, Washington.

It will be used by the service’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team to hone their specialist skills.

Crawling through the enclosed space gives you a feel for the dangers these USAR and firefighter teams face and the agility needed to react quickly and effectively in real life situations.

TWFRS Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Peter Heath, believes the facility, which cost £200,000, will be a massive benefit to the service.

He said: “This is a facility that we’ve built in house and has been designed by our own staff. It’s designed to be able to enable our teams and those from across the country to come here and practise their key skills when they are tasked with buildings that have collapsed.

“This is a state of the art facility. Our teams benefit because it is extremely realistic and has been purposely built by people who go and undertake rescues like this. Our in house staff have worked with others to design challenging situations that allow us to realistically simulate conditions we’ve learned from experience.”

While inside the network the pipes, we watched as the USAR team broke through concrete and metal using specialist machines, skills which this facility will help them develop and put to use in a real life scenario.

One thing that was evident while watching firefighters from inside the facility is as each member of the team works together to fulfil a task, performing well as a team is vital.

TWFRS teams have already been training on the purpose built facility, along with the service's rescue dog, Merlin, who was able to expertly notify the USAR team of civilians stuck in the rubble, during demonstrations at the facility.

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