Firemen who fight crime as well as blazes

A POLICE force has trained firefighters to also act as police officers in what is believed to the first scheme of its kind in the country.

The idea is to address a shortfall in rural officers.

The team of seven Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service on-call firefighters have been trained as special constables in a role known as a ‘community responder’.

They will have the ability to go to both fire and police incidents and will have the powers to arrest suspects. The project aims to improve response times in rural locations in Devon.

The police and fire collaboration project has been funded by Devon and Cornwall police. The region’s crime commissioner Alison Hernandez hopes the scheme will improve access to the emergency services.

The seven community responders have been recruited into locations where there is a need based on ‘risk, vulnerability and harm’ – Cullompton, Crediton, Dartmouth, Honiton, Okehampton, Newton Abbot and Totnes. Miss Hernandez has committed funding for an initial two years covering recruitment and training costs with the possibility of extending further.

She said: ‘I look forward to seeing the benefits that our communities will reap from this innovative work.’

Kevin Pearce, the community responder for Cullompton, said he was motivated to take on the role by a lifelong interest in police work.

He said: ‘I can be more of a presence and a face that people will recognise and can approach about both police and fire related incidents and we can help reach more people.

‘It’s great to be able to enhance the presence of emergency services in communities where it’s needed.’

Chief Inspector Tom Holmes, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: ‘This project provides an excellent opportunity for both police and fire to add additional officers into our communities. This is a national first, the potential of which both services share a huge excitement about.’

Jeff Harding of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said it were ‘really pleased to take part in this initiative as it supports on-call firefighters in areas where we have recruitment challenges.’

‘We can reach more people’