Helping Capita’s Fire Service College deliver world-class training to emergency responders

Summary

Customer name	Fire Service College
Location	Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, UK
Business sector	Emergency service training
Order details	Approximately 700 770/775 Valiant Firefighter Suits, plus firefighting helmets and hoods
Business requirements	Fast, reliable kit turnaround, a full range of sizes and fits, and dependable quality for up to 24 learners across 30–35 courses every week

Overview

The Fire Service College is a leading international provider of fire and rescue training, with more than 50 years of experience equipping emergency responders with the skills and confidence they need to save lives. At its purpose-built incident ground in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, the College recreates real-time emergency scenarios, from building fires and motorway pile-ups to train derailments and ship rescues, giving personnel from around the world hands-on experience of the most up-to-date techniques and practices.

 

With safety and wellbeing at the heart of everything it delivers, the College needed a PPE partner who could match the scale, pace and precision of its training schedule. Around three years ago, it turned to FlamePro, and the two organisations have since built a close working relationship that now sees the College order roughly 700 770/775 Valiant Firefighter Suits, along with firefighting helmets and hoods, from FlamePro.

 

Challenge

The Fire Service College runs between 30 and 35 training courses every week, with up to 24 learners on each one. That volume of people passing through the facility, week after week, placed significant pressure on the supply, cleaning and availability of fire kit.

• Fast turnaround of kit cleaning: with hundreds of learners each week, kit not being cleaned and returned quickly enough risked trainees arriving without a suitable kit, and even led to client penalties for non-delivery of courses.
• A wide range of sizes and fits: the College needed to cater for people of all shapes and sizes, often without being able to forecast exactly who would be arriving in the weeks ahead.
• Reliability under pressure: any shortfall in kit availability or quality had a direct impact on trainee safety, learning experience and the College’s reputation.

“One of the biggest challenges we face is the fast turnaround of the fire kit we need. We’ve had real issues in the past with kit not being cleaned and returned to us quickly enough. Our biggest pain points have always been the quantity of kit, frequency of cleaning and the range of kit sizes we need.”

Kayla Honour, Logistics Team Leader, Fire Service College

 

Solution

The College was introduced to FlamePro around three years ago, during a particularly difficult period with kit reliability. FlamePro moved quickly to understand the specific pressures the College faced and worked closely with the team to resolve them.

• Recommending CLEAN as a dedicated laundry partner, giving the College confidence that kit would be cleaned and returned on time, at the quality expected.
• Supplying around 700 770/775 Valiant Firefighter Suits, together with firefighting helmets and hoods, sized and fitted to suit trainers and learners of all shapes and sizes, including strong male and female fit options.
• Providing kit that stays compliant as fire regulations evolve, protecting both trainers and the College in the event of an incident.
• Backing the kit with a responsive Account Manager and customer service team who could react quickly whenever the College needed to move fast.

“FlamePro recommended CLEAN, their chosen Laundry Partner and, since we made that switch, things have improved significantly for us. We now have confidence that we’ll have the kit we need, and at the quality we expect, ready for when trainers arrive at our facility.”

Kayla Honour, Logistics Team Leader, Fire Service College

 

Results

• Consistent kit availability and quality, giving the College confidence that trainers and learners will always have the right kit, in the right size, when they need it.
• A significant reduction in the cleaning and turnaround issues that had previously put course delivery at risk.
• A trusted, responsive relationship with FlamePro’s Account Management and customer service teams, with communication described as excellent and issues resolved quickly.
• Kit that trainers rate highly for comfort, fit and protection, supporting a better learning experience for every course.
• A growing partnership: the College has increased its orders with FlamePro, who are now described as an integral part of what the College delivers.

“We initially partnered with FlamePro to build resilience and flexibility. However, we very quickly realised the quality of FlamePro’s kit, and the service the company provides, is superior to what we had experienced before. Our vision for the College is to build the world’s best resilience training organisation, and with FlamePro’s kit we know our trainees are fully protected, and our equipment meets the latest regulations and is fully compliant.”

Kayla Honour, Logistics Team Leader, Fire Service College