New centre planned for manchester

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is the most recent new member of the Safety Centre Alliance and is developing a state-of-the-art training centre and community hub in Bury which will include an experiential safety education centre.

A 10-acre area of land off Wellington Street is being transformed to provide the most realistic training and development for firefighters as well as an interactive community facility for local people.

Existing features on the land will be used - including a large warehouse, tunnels and culverts, cellars, bridges, cuttings and embankments, rubble piles and old mill walls, a lodge and a section of river.

New elements will also be added to prepare crews for the types of incidents they may face more of in the future - such as a collapsed building to train in search and rescue and a train, tram and ship to train for transport-related incidents.

A 'Fire Street' will be created to include a variety of simulated detached and terraced homes and commercial buildings where firefighters can recreate incidents.

The community hub will feature an interactive and immersive learning area where local people and schoolchildren in particular can learn how to protect themselves against fire and other incidents.

Groups will arrive into a simulated fire control room where they'll see the different types of incidents GMFRS attends and have the chance to listen to a real 999 call.

There will be a simulated road traffic collision scene and a 'fire house' where visitors can spot hazards and carry out a Home Safety Check.

Visitors will have the chance to enter a post-fire bedroom where they'll see first-hand the damage that can be caused by a fire.

During their visit, groups will be given their own fire kit to wear and they'll experience all the elements of a real fire - the smell of smoke, the heat of a fire and the sound of the sirens.

Full details and an interactive tour are available here.

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