Firefighters rally to help vulnerable in Mansfield during lockdown

Some of Mansfield’s most vulnerable and isolated people have benefitted from the work of firefighters as they rallied to support their local communities during lockdown.
Firefighters have been taking pharmacy deliveries out to vulnerable patients in the Mansfield area, along with other duties.Firefighters have been taking pharmacy deliveries out to vulnerable patients in the Mansfield area, along with other duties.
Firefighters have been taking pharmacy deliveries out to vulnerable patients in the Mansfield area, along with other duties.

In the past two months, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has undertaken a variety of different responsibilities, including delivering food parcels and medication, making phone calls to vulnerable people, carrying out home visits to those considered most at risk, providing fire safety advice to at-risk businesses and acting as a drop-off point for PPE donated to the NHS.

Some volunteers have also been supporting East Midlands Ambulance Service by driving ambulances to transport urgent care patients.

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As well as all of this, the service has also maintained an emergency response from all 24 of its fire stations across the county, attending more than 1,300 incidents since the end of March.

Chief fire officer John Buckley said: “I am incredibly proud of the way in which every single member of the service has stepped up to respond to this dreadful situation by supporting our communities, and each other, across the whole of Nottinghamshire.

“The coronavirus pandemic has put some challenges in our way and has meant we have had to find different ways of delivering some of our usual activities in order to keep people safe.

“Our crews have also been contacting people in their local area just to check they are ok and to signpost them to additional services – for some, this may have been the first person they have spoken to for several days.

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“We have pulled together to continue to provide a vital service to our local communities, and I’d like to thank all of our staff, partners and the people of Nottinghamshire for supporting us throughout this.”