On Wednesday (November 1), Mid and West Wales Firefighters commenced operational response using a brand-new Breathing Apparatus (BA).

Following an extensive All Wales procurement and evaluation process, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service have chosen the Draeger PSS 7000 as the All Wales BA set, supported by the Merlin Entry Control Board.

The set will enhance Firefighter Safety by using state of the art telemetry, which will give the Incident and Sector Commanders live information of all BA wearers entering a risk area.

Station Manager Sean Lloyd, BA Project Leader for MAWWFRS said, “The safety and wellbeing of our firefighters is paramount; therefore, we are delighted to provide our operational staff with this first-class equipment.

“From the 1st of November, our firefighters will respond to incidents using the new Draeger PSS 7000 and Merlin Entry Board. During the past four months, our crews have all been provided with rigorous training on the state of the art equipment and are ready for the Go Live in November.”

Chief Fire Officer Chris Davies said, “Our firefighters are ready to respond to all types of incidents at a moment’s notice and will regularly put their own safety at risk in order to protect and rescue others.

“Breathing Apparatus is one of the fundamental pieces of equipment to enable them to do this.

“It is therefore, of the upmost importance that we, as a Fire and Rescue Service, provide our firefighters with the best equipment, training and technology available. We must protect them as they protect our communities.

“The procurement of the Draeger PSS 7000, which will be supported by the Merlin Entry Control Board, ensures that we meet our responsibilities in providing our operational staff with a world class standard of breathing apparatus.”

Richard Ryan, Marketing Manager Fire Services /Respiratory and Protective Systems for Draeger Safety UK Ltd. said, “After a rigorous trial and tender period we at Draeger Safety UK are delighted that MAWWFRS have decided to select Draeger as their provider of Breathing Apparatus.

During the whole process, we have been enormously impressed by all of the MAWWFRS stakeholders, especially with the diligence and determination they have shown to make sure the Fire Fighters under their duty of care have the very best equipment at their disposal.

We look forward to partnering MAWWFRS for many years to come and feel privileged to have them as part of the Draeger user family.”