SARA joins forces with Tewkesbury rescue station (From Tewkesbury Admag)

SARA joins forces with Tewkesbury rescue station

4:48pm Monday 17th October 2011 in News

THE Severn Area Rescue Association’s Tewkesbury based rescue station has begun a partnership with Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service in an unprecedented move for UK emergency response agencies.

The move sees SARA’s volunteers combining resources and sharing premises with local firefighters to create a hub for water rescue in Tewkesbury and surrounding areas.

It has meant the station has been renamed the Gloucestershire Water Rescue Centre, while it is hoped the partnership will lead to improved coordination and operation between the two agencies.

SARA has four rescue stations at strategic points along the River Severn, including Sharpness Lifeboat station which is also prolific in water rescue in the county.

SARA Tewkesbury currently has two inshore rescue boats alongside a boat haulage and land search vehicle.

The new centre houses multiple rescue boats, land search and Swiftwater rescue teams providing a greater level of response to all water-related incidents, as well as ensuring the area is better prepared for future large-scale floods.

Station Chairman and charity trustee Chris Crowley said: “We are thrilled to be at the heart of this bold move by both our agencies. The benefit this will bring to the local community is huge, and the standard of service we can deliver is first class and unrivalled in the UK.

“We are looking forward to working ever closer with GFRS personnel and developing our relationship with them”.