Bexhill and Battle firefighters and building firm stage mock rescue

Organised by Wayne Jackaman, construction site manager at McCarthy & Stone’s Bexhill development and in partnership with Bexhill Community Fire Station, the training exercise provided the Rope Rescue Team and the firefighters with a real-life training opportunity by establishing two rescue scenarios relating to the tower crane.

The crane has been erected on site as construction starts on 25 one- and two-bedroom retirement living apartments on Little Common Road for those aged over 60.

The apartments will be released from plan winter 2015, with first homeowners expected to move next spring.

The rescue scene was organised by rope rescue instructor, Mark Eaton on Saturday morning (August 1), with a call made at 10am for the requirement of rescue teams based at Bexhill and Battle community fire stations to attend site.

“Two rescues were carried out on the crane, and were treated as a real-life emergency situation for the training scenario.

Andrew Upton, watch commander for red watch at Bexhill Community Fire Station, said: “With construction now under way on the new development in Bexhill, as the local Fire and Rescue Station and Rope Rescue Team for East Sussex, we need to ensure that we can act quickly to secure the safety of workers on site, in the unlikely event that a rescue situation arises during construction.

“Mock rescue activities such as the crane exercise are incredibly valuable, providing the Rope Rescue Team with an opportunity to practice a rescue in a real-life setting, yet with the support of being in a safe and controlled environment. “We’d like to thank McCarthy & Stone for facilitating the session, which proved a real success.”

Julie Ward, sales and marketing director at McCarthy & Stone South East, added: “We are dedicated to ensuring health and safety on site as part of our ongoing commitment to five-star service and quality.

“Supporting the training of local emergency service teams is of upmost importance to ensuring the safety of our site workers, and we’re pleased that we could assist in facilitating the successful mock rescue exercise at our Bexhill site.”

The building company said the new development on Little Common Road has been carefully designed to offer light, spacious interiors with some properties opening out onto spacious balconies.

All the apartments will have fully-fitted kitchens with designer integrated appliances and provide spacious, open-plan living and dining areas, McCarthy & Stone said.

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