Lancaster security firm backs fire service's vital work

A Lancaster business is supporting the county's fire service by providing retained firefighting staff to assist with incidents within the Lune Valley and North Yorkshire border.

Security and garage door manufacturer SWS UK, which is based in Claughton, currently has three employees who have been specially trained to aid the fire service in the event of emergency call outs from the fire station based in Hornby.

Ben Laycock, who is SWS UK’s Product Development Engineer, and Stuart Leeming, who is a Production Supervisor, have in total provided 10 years of relief service and have contributed to a total of 260 incidents attended by SWS UK employees.

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More recently, Ben’s brother Tom Laycock, who was already a member of the retained firefighters, has now been employed within the company’s Commercial Shutter department.

SWS UK’s managing director Colin Reoch said: “As one of the area’s biggest employers, we are delighted that we are able to support the fire service and the community during emergency situations and are extremely proud of Ben, Stuart and Tom for proving themselves to be such valuable assets to the team at Hornby fire station. We will continue to do all we can to support them in the amazing work they do.”

A call-out to SWS UK’s trained employees can be made at any time and can be anything from a minor incident to a full-scale emergency.

One such incident was the major fire at The Megazone site in Morecambe in June 2014, which needed the help of 50 firefighters, nine pumps, a mobile fire station and an aerial ladder platform.

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SWS UK are also benefitting from two employees who now possess an additional specialist skillset.

Ben and Stuart assisted in completing the company’s fire risk assessment, and in addition to providing refresher first aid training to other employees, they are also trained to trauma level first aid should such treatment ever be required.

Andy Jones, the Retained Support Officer for Hornby Fire Station, said: “Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service recognises the support and continued commitment from SWS UK, allowing Ben, Stuart and Tom to respond to emergency call outs for crewing the fire appliance at Hornby.

“They are part of a dedicated crew who live and work in a rural area and will crew the fire appliance within five minutes to deal with any emergency within the local community.

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“We offer our thanks and appreciation to the directors/management team at SWS for maintaining this vital partnership.”

SWS UK is committed to maintaining their established relationship with the Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service and to date, they have supported their firefighters in providing 29,120 hours of cover, which equates to almost three and a half years.

SWS Ltd can be found online here