Fire service splits in two

Monday 30 March 2020

Beau Sejour will double as a second fire station while it is closed to the public, allowing the island's firefighters to split into two teams throughout the corona virus pandemic.

From this week, half of each shift will be based at the leisure facility, with the rest working from the fire station as usual.

The new measures will significantly reduce the likelihood of an entire shift of firefighters having to go into isolation if one of them becomes ill with covid-19.

Pictured: Half of the team is now based at Beau Sejour.

"This is a relatively simple change to enact, but a significant one for increasing our resilience during the coming months," said Chief Fire Officer, Jonathon Le Page. "The risk of having an entire shift of personnel becoming unfit for operational duties for two weeks would place a substantial strain on our resources and is not a risk we are willing to take.

"Although the crews may still be deployed to the same calls, the risk will be substantially minimised over having them share station facilities.

"We are grateful to the management of Beau Sejour for swiftly allowing this change to happen, which means we can continue to maintain adequate cover for the island during the pandemic."

Beau Sejour closed its doors to the public last week.

Pictured top: Beau Sejour.