DSRT Ashburton's vehicle officer Andrew Luscombe receives the keys to Dart 62 from Assistant Chief Fire Officer Trevor Stratford
A fleet of rescue vehicles has been expanded thanks to a donation from firefighters.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service formally handed over five Land Rovers to the Dartmoor Rescue Group during a joint exercise at the weekend.
The group said the vehicles became surplus to fire service requirements and were donated as part of a closer working relationship between the two rescue services who train and work together on Dartmoor and the surrounding area on difficult and challenging incidents.
Chairman of the Dartmoor Rescue Group and DSRT Ashburton Alec Collyer said: “We are extremely grateful to Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service in thinking about our needs as a charitable organisation and we look forward to receiving the Land Rovers and putting them to good use in the future when rescuing injured or lost people.”
The Dartmoor Rescue Groups fleet has grown thanks to the donation
Following the formalities, the four Dartmoor teams took part in a joint training exercise in wet and windy weather, involving the search, treatment and extraction of four ‘casualties’ from the area around Pew Tor and Cox Tor. The casualties had injuries and medical conditions ranging from diabetes to a spinal injury.
Robert Steemson, press and media officer for Dartmoor Rescue Group, said: “Joint training with other key partners is vital as each team will tend to work in its own geographical area but may need to work anywhere on Dartmoor to support other Dartmoor Search and Rescue teams.
“Depending on the number of people who require rescuing or the area to be searched, a callout may consist of one, two or three teams and usually at least one team is kept as a backup in case of an extended operation. DRG teams also provide an essential search and rescue service across the rest of Devon and may also be used to support the Cornwall and the Exmoor Search and Rescue teams.”
The group said unfortunately the weather prevented the new search and rescue helicopter from Newquay joining in the exercise.
