.@TreshamCollege students join Fire Service in rescue exercise

Tresham College students joined forces with The Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service to run an aeroplane evacuation training exercise at their Kettering campus.

Students from Travel & Tourism, Uniformed Public Services, Media and Make-up all took part in the event to create a rescue scanario in the college’s aircraft fuselage on Tuesday 15^thMay.

A simulated fire using synthetic smoke was staged in the main passenger compartment, allowing 30 students to put their emergency procedure training into action and gain experience of working alongside emergency responders.

The exercise also gave fire crews from Kettering, Rothwell and Desborough the opportunity to practise large aircraft procedures, including initial fire-fighting actions and using breathing apparatus to carry out search and rescue procedures in smoke and darkness.

Station Commander Jason Urbani, who helped coordinate the event, said: “The purpose of the exercise was to support the college’s tourism and public services students, giving them a practical opportunity to rehearse an emergency evacuation and to work with the emergency services.

“As a fire service, it also gave us a slightly different search and rescue location to train in, and allowed us to practise the skills required for dealing with incidents involving large aircraft.”

Lucy Skipper, lecturer in Travel and Tourism at Tresham College, said: “The event went really well and was beneficial for all involved, as it gave the opportunity for collaboration across the college.

“Students benefitted by being able to witness first-hand what a real-life emergency looks like, and how the emergency services respond to such events. The media make-up students created realistic ‘injuries’ and media students were able to witness the event live and interview the emergency services afterwards.”

Cory McBride, 19, is studying Travel and Tourism at Tresham College and hopes to pursue a career as a cabin crew member, added: “I really enjoyed the event, it helped me feel more confident in front of audiences and will be beneficial in later my career. The experience has made me more determined to work within a cabin crew.”

Tresham College is part of The Bedford College Group since a merger in August 2017 and is now the No 1 work-related training provider in the region.