Fire and Rescue Service Go Green to Help Save the Planet

The UK’s fire and rescue service of the year, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) is proud of its green credentials that are helping to save the planet.

The service is talking about the importance of organisations making key and significant changes to their working practice that will have a long-term impact on the environment.

This Thursday (5^th June) is World Environment Day, which is recognised as being the biggest international day for the environment – bringing together millions of people across the globe in a shared vision to drive sustainable change.

TWFRS prides itself in continuing to review the topic of sustainability across its facilities including seventeen community fire stations, Service Headquarters, the Technical Service Centre, and SafetyWorks!

The headline savings include:

• Waste Reduction: Comprehensive recycling programmes and the removal of single-use plastics.
• Carbon Reduction: A 32% reduction in building-related CO2 emissions since 2013.
• Fleet Improvements: Expansion of electric/hybrid vehicles and the installation of 19 EV (Electric Vehicle) charging points.
• Energy Efficiency: LED lighting, improved insulation, smart controls, and solar panels across the TWFRS estate.

• Water Conservation: Harvesting of rainwater and storm water management.
• Sustainable Procurement: Ethical sourcing and use of green electricity.
• Food Waste: Brown food waste recycling bins are provided at most food preparation and kitchen areas.
• Recycling Batteries: The service provides containers to gather used alkaline batteries.

These are just a few examples of how the environment plays a major role in the day-to-day running of the service. One of those environmental commitments is the number of electric vehicles and charging points that form part of the service’s operational and corporate fleet.

A respectable 6.9% of the overall fleet are electric powered with five new charging stations recently being installed at Service Headquarters in Washington, in partnership with facilities management company, Equans. This is in addition to two charge points at Hebburn Tri Station.

The EV vehicles are used for a variety of different purposes including by the fire safety team to enable them to visit businesses and residents to assess and review the fire safety elements of their properties.

Hebburn Tri Station is itself a great example of how TWFRS includes sustainability and the environment within the design and build of new facilities. The building located in South Tyneside, houses under one roof the fire service, Northumbria Police and North East Ambulance Service, and since its official unveiling last year has won major awards for sustainability.

The award-winning facility is recognised as being the UK’s first carbon-neutral Emergency Services Tri-Station and it has a variety of environmentally friendly components 345 solar panels capable of generating up to 100% of the energy required to operate the facility; multiple electric bike and vehicle charging points; as well as ground source heat pumps that harness heat from deep beneath the station to provide hot water and heating.

The grounds of the cutting-edge project is also home to a lovely wildflower meadow, bird and bat boxes, and bee hotels. These additional measures are expected to increase local biodiversity by 10.75%.

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Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Dave Leach, said: “We pride ourselves at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service in the way that the environment is considered and respected at every level.

“This could be from the way we heat and light our buildings through to the choice of fleet vehicles. The decision that we make isn’t just about dealing with the present but is seen as an investment in time and money to benefit future generations of people and of course the wider planet.

“The focus on this year’s World Environment Day is plastic pollution and we have a policy for the removal of single-use plastics, and green bins are provided across all of our buildings to encourage colleagues to recycle their plastic packaging.”

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You can find out more about the sustainability work at TWFRS by visiting the service’s website www.twfire.gov.uk/sustainability

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