The Fire Service College is responsible for providing leadership, management and advanced operational training courses for senior
fire officers from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and foreign fire authorities. It is located at
Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England.
The town stands at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and the ...
in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It has been owned by
Capita
Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London.
It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United K ...
since February 2013, having previously been an
executive agency
An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...
and
trading fund A trading fund is an executive agency, government department or often simply a part of a department, that enables the department to handle its own revenues and expenses separately from overall government finances and more like a business, as opposed ...
of the
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...
.
The college provides the full range of training for firefighters at all levels, including initial training for recruit firefighters.
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
closed its own
Scottish Fire Service College in 2015 and set up the
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service National Training Centre
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service National Training Centre is a purpose-built training facility in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire. Also known as the Uaill Training Centre, it has mock buildings and areas suitable for training to use specialist fi ...
near
Cambuslang
Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...
. As a result many Scottish fire officers go to Moreton-in-Marsh for more specialist and senior ranking courses.
The college has a wide range of facilities for theoretical education and practical training in
firefighting
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter.
Firefighters typically ...
,
fire safety
Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...
and accident and emergency work.
History
Under the
Fire Brigades Act 1938
The Fire Brigades Act 1938 (in force until 1941, repealed 1947) was the primary legislation for Great Britain, excluding London, that placed responsibility for the provision of a fire brigade onto the local authority, and away from the insurance co ...
, the UK Government set up a training centre
[
] at
Saltdean
Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of Brighton and Hove, with part (known as East Saltdean) outside the city boundary in Lewes district. Saltdean is approximately east of central Brighton, west of Newhaven, and south of Lewes. It is ...
near
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
in 1941, to train
National Fire Service
The National Fire Service (NFS) was the single fire service created in Great Britain in 1941 during the Second World War; a separate National Fire Service (Northern Ireland) was created in 1942.
The NFS was created in August 1941 by the amalga ...
personnel. With the return to local authority control after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the British government decided to standardise the way in which the fire service worked. The college at Saltdean became too small and the
Home Office opened the Senior Staff College at
Wotton House
Wotton House, Wotton Underwood, Buckinghamshire, England, is a stately home built between 1704 and 1714, to a design very similar to that of the contemporary version of Buckingham House. The house is an example of English Baroque and a Grade I l ...
,
Dorking
Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...
in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
in 1949, to train senior officers from all over the country. On 4 June 1966, they decided to do the same for the lower ranks and established the Fire Service Technical College at Moreton-in-Marsh on a disused
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
wartime airfield about outside the town. In 1981, the Staff College in Dorking closed and amalgamated with the Technical College to form the Fire Service College on the Moreton-in-Marsh site.
RAF Moreton-in-Marsh
RAF Moreton-in-Marsh was a Royal Air Force station near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. It was opened in November 1940 with three concrete and tarmac runways and five aircraft hangars. It closed for operational flying in early 1948. The base ...
was, as the home station of 21 Operational Training Unit,
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
responsible for the training of aircrew to fly
Wellington bombers.
The Station also flew operations, and sent aircraft on the large bomber raids on the German cities of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
and
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. The airbase remained operational until the late 1950s. The government then used the base to teach fire fighting to military personnel undergoing their
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The l ...
.
The Home Office opened the college on the site in 1968.
The first students whilst having most of the facilities seen today had no proper accommodation and were bunked in large huts (in the area that is now the cricket and football pitches), which originally housed the RAF personnel when it was an operational airbase. The Staff College at Dorking was closed in 1981 and all training was transferred to Moreton-in-Marsh.
In April 1992,
the college became an
executive agency
An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...
and
trading fund A trading fund is an executive agency, government department or often simply a part of a department, that enables the department to handle its own revenues and expenses separately from overall government finances and more like a business, as opposed ...
under the Fire Service Trading Fund Order 1992 (Statutory Instrument 1992 No. 640). In June 2001, the responsibility for the college transferred from the Home Office to the
Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...
and just one year later to the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duti ...
and then to the
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...
.
On 16 May 2009, a fire broke out at one of the appliance bays in the college, destroying 11
fire engine
A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...
s at a cost of £116,000 each. The blaze was not suspicious.
In April 2011, the Government announced it was studying different options for private investment in the college to allow it to achieve its full potential and in March 2012 it was concluded that the best option was full
privatisation
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
. In December 2012,
Capita
Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London.
It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United K ...
was selected as the preferred bidder and the sale was completed for £10 million on 28 February 2013.
Education
Educationally, the college has lecture facilities and specialised areas such as IT suites, a chemistry laboratory and hydraulics laboratory. The tutors are drawn from both the academic world and from officers serving in fire and rescue services around the country. Courses available range from firefighter recruits through junior officer development to senior officer management courses right up to chief officer level. To support the educational side, there as a large administration complex and a library of fire related literature. Students come mainly from the UK but several countries also send students.
Operational training
Operational training is carried out in several purpose built areas of the college,
including:
*Breathing apparatus complex
*Industrial complexes
*Domestic property
*High rise property
*Areas for electrical, pool fire and fixed installation training
*Small-scale versions of petroleum and chemical installations
*A concrete "ship", the “Sir Henry”
*A
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
, which includes a section of rail with locomotives and carriages of various types, both passenger and freight.
* A mock
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
(M96)
*
USAR (Urban Search and Rescue)
* A range of aircraft including helicopters, military and civil passenger aircraft including a simulated Boeing 747
* Fire behaviour units
To support the operational training the college has a fully equipped appliance room with a number of appliances from different manufacturers including pumps, aerial appliances, rescue tenders, USAR vehicles and hazmats appliances. There is also a large workshop to maintain the appliances and all the other operational equipment used.
The M96 motorway is a stretch of road at the college which imitates in detail a typical UK motorway; it is used to teach firefighters in training how to deal with
road traffic incidents. It consists of one of the former runways of the airfield. The numbering of the motorway is not consistent with the
Great Britain road numbering scheme
The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in Great Britain.
Each road is given a single letter (which represents the road's category) and a subsequent number (between 1 and 4 digits) ...
; however its number is largely irrelevant, as it is not open to the public.
Social
The social and domestic facilities include
*Standard and deluxe accommodation for 600 students
*Television rooms and lounge areas
*Chapel
*The 'Four Shires' Restaurant and bar complex
*Sports complex with a swimming pool, sauna, four squash courts a sports hall and fitness suite
*Several football and cricket pitches
*Two tennis courts
Other uses
The college site is also home to the
Fire Protection Association
The Fire Protection Association is the UK's National Fire Safety Organisation. Established in 1946, it works to identify and draw attention to the dangers of fire and the means by which their potential for occurrence and loss is kept to a min ...
(FPA).
In 2003, the BBC used the location to film the docudrama ''
The Day Britain Stopped'' about a series of catastrophic transport accidents. For the purposes of the programme, the motorway was temporarily rebranded "M91".
The college has been on occasions shut over weekends and used by the military and police for training, as the live fire buildings and complexes allow training in certain operational areas that cannot easily be carried out or reconstructed elsewhere.
In November 2016, the site was used by HTIS for an Airsoft Military Simulation event called Blue Fox II.
On 8 December 2018, the first Fire Service College
parkrun
Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...
was held on the site. The parkrun no longer takes place as it did not resume following the restarting of parkrun's during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
due to new security restrictions on the site.
See also
*
New Dimension programme
The New Dimension programme, sometimes referred to as the New Dimension or New Dimensions, was started by the Department for Communities and Local Government in the UK, for fire and rescue services in England and Wales, following the September ...
*
UK Government Decontamination Service
The UK Government Decontamination Service (sometimes written without the ''UK'' prefix or abbreviated to GDS) is an organisation within the His Majesty's Government, UK Government that provides advice and guidance to help the United Kingdom, UK ...
*
Women in firefighting
Firefighting has historically been a predominantly male profession throughout the world. However, since the 1970s, women have made inroads in both professional and volunteer fire departments in multiple countries. In modern times, women have serve ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Education in Gloucestershire
Privatised executive agencies of the United Kingdom government
Firefighting academies
Emergency management in the United Kingdom
Fire and rescue in the United Kingdom
Moreton-in-Marsh