He won’t literally be wearing three hats at once – just one hat with three badges representing his roles in the police, fire and ambulance services.
Andrew Hichens is the first person in the UK to work simultaneously in the three blue-light service roles.
If there’s a fire on his patch in Hayle, Cornwall, there’s a very good chance he will be on scene; if there is a road accident he will be on hand; a crime to sort out? Hichens is your man.
Hichens, 28, who has two young sons, accepts he is going to be very busy indeed. “It’s very new; it’s going to be a challenge. It is an exciting time for Hayle and myself,” he said.
Hichens is most likely to be spotted in his role as a police community officer – his place falls between that of a volunteer community support officer and a fully sworn police officer. He will be patrolling Hayle, a popular resort town with a historic harbour, in his grey electric car (wearing a unique grey uniform).
But he will also have one eye or ear on his fire and ambulance pagers. Because his police patrol will centre on Hayle, control room staff will know he is likely to be able to get to almost any emergency in the town swiftly.
Things might get confusing in certain circumstances. If Hayle gets to a fire and finds a body, for example, there may be tension between his roles as a firefighter and police officer – consequently the scope of his role will be reviewed regularly to make sure it is working smoothly.
“I was drawn to the job as it provides the community with a unique presence,” Hichens said. “I want to become a familiar face in the local community, someone the public are happy to see and who can respond to any incident or inquiry.”
He will be based at the new Hayle tri-service centre, working alongside on-call firefighters, fully-fledged police officers and ambulance crews. Emergency responders from the three services began working from the hub in March.
Employed by Cornwall fire and rescue service, Hichens’s role has been funded as part of a two-year government pilot aimed at strengthening collaboration between blue-light services.
The fire, police and ambulance bosses insist this is not just a way of saving money and getting more work out one person. They insist it will be a cleverer, more efficient use of resources, especially in a relatively remote part of the UK.
Assistant chief fire officer Phil Martin said: “Andrew will be a familiar face in the community, and working together with his colleagues in one building means we will all benefit from his shared expertise from across the three services.”
Neil Le Chevalier, director of operations for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are the first in the country to bring all three services into one building and the benefits are immense, particularly for the local community of Hayle where we have a dedicated person able to respond on behalf of the three services.”
Asst Ch Con Paul Netherton, from Devon and Cornwall police, said: “The tri-service officer is a groundbreaking idea being introduced into Cornwall. It brings together the skills and training of the three emergency services into one individual and means that we can provide a really effective first responder to any situation.
“This concept is very exciting and we are already thinking how we can expand this beyond Hayle. What it will do is, despite the tough austerity times for the emergency services, is provide local communities with a dedicated local officer who can provide that initial support to our local communities.
“This, coupled with the development of the emergency tri-service buildings, will hopefully safeguard our presence in our communities as well as making us more effective in our response to emergencies and calls for help.”
Hichens spent eight years working as a firefighter in nearby Camborne. He began his police and ambulance training in November.
“There’s not a lot of spare time, having a fiancee and two little boys, but it is important,” he said. “They are very understanding. We realised early on this is a lifestyle choice.”
• This article was amended on 24 April 2015. An earlier version referred to Hichens as a paramedic. He is a community first responder.
