Brigade Order - Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

Brigade Order Operations 4
Part 6
Section
Title Larger Volume Pumping Unit Mobilisation
Reference
OPS4PT6
Author
M Timmis
Status
Amended
Date
01/11
Brigade Order
Contents Page No.
Purpose 1
Strategic Aims and Objectives 1
Introduction 1
The HVPU 2
The HPU 2
The LPU 2
In County Mobilisation 2
Out of County Mobilisation 4
Welfare 4
Roles, Responsibilities and Review
The Head of Operations and Risk is responsible for ensuring this Order is implemented
across the Brigade.
The Head of District Performance will be responsible for the day to day operation of the
Order.
The Head of Operations and Risk will review this Order when new legislation arises or
as and when organisational needs require.
Page
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Brigade Order Operations 4
Part 6 – High Volume Pumping Unit Mobilisation
Purpose
The purpose of this Order is to detail the mobilisation procedures for all of the Large
Volume Pumping Units.
Strategic Aims and Objectives
This Order supports the following Strategic Aims:
Aim 1: Reduce the risk to life and material loss from fires, road traffic collisions and other
emergencies in the community.
Aim 2: Protect life, property and the environment from fire and other emergencies.
Aim 3: Secure the highest level of safety and welfare/wellbeing for all staff and Authority
Members.
Aim 4: Provide a sustainable service that demonstrates quality and best value in service
provision.
Introduction
The national “New Dimension” project which puts national resilience at the heart of
operational response has led to a number of assets being distributed throughout the
regions. One such asset is the High Volume Pumping unit (HVPU), which is capable of
delivering or moving up to 7000 litres of water per minute at up to 60 metres head for use
where large volumes are required at incidents for fire fighting or in flood conditions.
In Shropshire we have two other large volume pumps. These are all available for local and
national use, but normally when the units are requested outside the county the unit at
Prees will be mobilised first. This order sets out the mobilising protocols for all three larger
volume pumps.
The High Volume Pump (HVPU) is based at Prees and will normally be staffed by
personnel from Prees. Being a national asset, the HVP can be mobilised to any significant
event where the equipment and crew can assist in bringing large incidents to a satisfactory
conclusion. A further 4 HVPU units are available within the West Midlands region and can
be called upon to assist with incidents inside Shropshire. There are 50 HVP units in
England and Wales.
Reference
OPS4PT6
Author
M Timmis
Status
Amended
Date
01/11
Page
1 of 4

The Heavy Pumping Unit (HPU), formerly located at Shrewsbury has now been relocated
to Craven Arms in order to support the water supply strategy adopted by SFRS in 2008. It
is generally crewed by personnel at Craven Arms and/or Clun.
The Light Pumping Unit (LPU) remains at Shrewsbury and is generally crewed by RDS
staff from Shrewsbury.
All three of these appliances are termed Large Volume Pumping Units (LVPU) for the
purposes of this mobilising Order.
The HVPU
A HVPU consists of a Prime Mover (chassis/cab vehicle with hook-lift) and
2 demountable containers. The first container holds the demountable HVP unit, known as
a Hydrasub, hose retrieval system and 1 kilometre of 150 mm hose. The second container
holds a further 2 kilometres 150 mm hose with retrieval system. In Shropshire the second
container of hose will normally remain stowed on a separate Prime Mover for speed of
response.
The HPU
Similarly, the HPU consists of a Prime Mover (chassis/cab vehicle with hook-lift) and
2 demountable containers of hose and equipment.
The LPU
The LPU is slightly smaller and gives access in restricted areas. However it has similar
pumping capacity to the physically larger units. Level One and Two Incident Commanders
may determine that access would be difficult for the larger units and may request the
attendance of the LPU. This must be clearly articulated to Fire Control giving an
explanation for not requiring the nearest appliance.
In County Mobilisation
When additional pumping capacity is required within the Brigade, the Incident Commander
should request that the attendance of the nearest Larger Volume Pumping Unit. Fire
Control will mobilise the nearest suitable pumping unit.
The county is divided into three segments and based on station areas the following
mobilisation will apply:
Reference
OPS4PT6
Author
M Timmis
Status
Amended
Date
01/11
Page
2 of 4

North – HVPU (PR) Central – LPU (SY) South – HPU (CA)
Reference
OPS4PT6
WH NP CA
MD AL CL
BS SY BC
WM TC CM
HO TW LU
PR WL MW
EL MY CS
Author
M Timmis
BN
OS
Should the High Volume Pumping Unit be required it will be crewed in the first instance by
personnel from Prees and both Prime Movers with containers will be mobilised to the
incident, or other location specified. Normal fireground welfare provisions will apply.
Crews will be mobilised to their home station and proceed to Prees in a service
vehicle/appliance. Should all of these crews be committed elsewhere Fire Control will
make arrangements for one of them to be relieved so that the HVP can be mobilised.
The LPU will be mobilised using crews from Shrewsbury RDS. If they are unavailable a
crew from Baschurch will be mobilised to Shrewsbury in their appliance and will then
mobilise the LPU.
The HPU will be mobilised with a crew from Craven Arms. Should they be unavailable Clun
will proceed in their appliance to Craven Arms to mobilise the HPU.
In the event that there is a shortfall of crew the officer in charge may request support from
one of the support stations identified above.
Each LVPU vehicle should be mobilised with a minimum of two personnel and a maximum
of three. These appliances will always be supported by another pumping appliance,
normally from the host station or identified support station.
When an incident requires mobilisation of a LVPU to an incident within its’ own station area
it is likely that the crew will already be in attendance.
Status
Amended
Date
01/11
Page
3 of 4

The mobilising officer will then need to consider whether to mobilise the next nearest
LVPU, or the next nearest appliance to take over from the LVPU crew in order that they
can return to their own station to mobilise the pump.
Out of County Mobilisation
The HVP is a national asset and as such can be requested to attend incidents anywhere in
the United Kingdom. Calls for assistance will normally be generated either by the Fire and
Rescue Service National Coordinating Centre (FRSNCC) or the host Fire and Rescue
Service Control.
Fire Control staff will notify FRSNCC (if they have not generated the call) that the HVP has
been mobilised out of county.
Fire Control will notify the Executive Officer and Principal Officer.
Both Prime Movers and containers will be mobilised directly to a specified rendezvous
point within the hosting Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) ground and on arrival will be under
the command of the host FRS Incident Commander.
Both appliances must ensure that Shropshire Fire Control is aware of their mobilisation
status verbally by radio or mobile telephone so that records of mobile and attendance times
can be recorded. National call signs will be adopted. These are currently:
Welfare
Reference
OPS4PT6
Author
M Timmis
Prime Mover Mike 01
Prime Mover XXX
HVP module Papa 11
Hose
module
Hotel 11
The deployment of the HVP beyond SFRS boundaries may require the vehicle to be away
for several days, dependent on the nature of the incident and the distance travelled.
A specialist officer will be alerted to take the role of “Welfare (Supplies) Officer” (see
Brigade Order Operations 4 Part 5)) and will arrange feeding as appropriate. As only small
numbers of personnel are involved this officer will also be able to deal with any other
welfare issues that may arise.
After the initial mobilisation and welfare provisions the host FRS will make arrangements to
ensure that crew requirements are adequately catered for and relief crews are arranged
within a reasonable timescale. It is unlikely that normal relief frequencies will be
achievable and appropriately trained relief crews may be called upon either from
Shropshire or another FRS.
Reliefs to incidents within Shropshire will be drawn from any of the five stations that have
been trained to operate the three LVPU.
Status
Amended
Date
01/11
Page
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