Firefighter training centre mocks up collapsed building disaster zone

PA Wire

A training centre which mocks up the scene firefighters face when tackling a collapsed building has been hailed as a UK first.

The facility has been constructed in Washington Tyne and Wear, to help firefighters rescue casualties from disaster zones.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service officers undergo training on a new state-of-the-art facility (Owen Humpreys/PA) (PA Wire)

The network of chambers connected by 180ft of concrete pipeworks has been covered with rubble at the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) centre.

The huge structure simulates the scene of a real-life disaster and snakes through the training yard at TWFRS headquarters.

The network of chambers connected by 180ft of concrete pipeworks (Owen Humpreys/PA) (PA Wire)

It will be used by the service’s Urban Search and Rescue team, to hone and maintain their specialist skills.

TWFRS chief fire officer Chris Lowther said: “This state-of-the-art training aid allows us to simulate that type of disaster and offers realistic training for those specialist crews.”