Fire crews put their rescue skills to the test on Monday (10 December) when they took part in a training exercise at one of Gravesend’s tallest buildings.

Four crews from Dartford, Thames-side and Horton Kirby participated in the staged incident, which included a simulated fire in Carl Ekman House.

Firefighters were given the scenario that a resident in a ninth floor flat had been cooking some festive nibbles in preparation for the big day but had been distracted, leaving the food to go up in flames.

Crews wearing breathing apparatus had to search the building for ‘casualties’ and practise new techniques for carrying equipment and deploying hose lines. The dry rise system in the building was also tested to make sure water could be delivered easily to all 13 floors of the high-rise building.

Exercise co-ordinator, Dartford Watch Manager, Dave Read said: “It’s important that we train in realistic and complex scenarios, treating the training as if it were a real incident. Dealing with fires in high-rise buildings present a number of different challenges for crews and recent work to improve existing operational procedures aims to achieve a safer and more effective outcome for all concerned. The exercise provided the opportunity to test these procedures and tailor our response to each individual high-rise building.

“Crews really valued the live training experience the exercise gave. It allowed them to familiarise themselves fully with the building and I would like to thank Gravesham Borough Council for giving us the opportunity to use their building to carry out this training.

Crews took the opportunity to raise awareness with residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms and practiced escape plans so that they know what to do if there is a fire.