Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois recently spent part of an evening during the summer recess, visiting the firefighters at Hawkwell Fire Station. The Crew there, which is made up of a mixture of full time and part time (retained) firefighters, provide vital fire and rescue cover across much of Mark’s constituency and are an integral part of the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
During his visit, Mark chatted to the firefighters about some of the challenges involved in their job, which ranges from attending major fires, through to assisting at Road Traffic Collisions on the A127 and the A13, through to rescuing domestic pets from trees! In 2018, the crew at Hawkwell attended over 330 incidences of one kind or another, for which they have to be able to turn out in their fire engine within four minutes of receiving an emergency call.
Mark, who himself served himself as a volunteer in the Territorial Army during the Cold War, was delighted to meet with the firefighters from Hawkwell and to take the opportunity to thank them for all their hard work, keeping the people of Essex safe.
Commenting on his visit Mark Francois MP said:
“I was really impressed by the crew at Hawkwell, who have a record of extremely high availability of their fire engine, what is known in the trade as being “on the run”. These people are clearly highly trained and very dedicated to their task and I took the opportunity during my visit to thank them for everything they do, to help protect life and limb in Essex. Anyone who is interested in joining as a retained fire fighter is encouraged to telephone 01376 576698 or to go onto the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service website, for further details. I am very proud to have such an efficient fire station as Hawkwell in my constituency.”
