In the face of recent strikes by the Fire Brigades Union, with its own fire engine and team of 12 trained student fire fighters, Oundle School is ready and equipped to deal with any emergencies.

For a number of years, Fire and Rescue training has been an option for pupils at the school, and an ageing fire tender has recently been replaced with a more modern appliance that was previously in service with a county brigade.

Bursar David Harris commented, “During extended strikes the School fire tender is being kept on standby, ready to attend an incident on School premises.” He continued, “senior pupils who have been trained as operatives will be issued with pagers so that they can be called out to attend an incident.”

Mr Harris was also keen to stress that neither students or staff would be put in any danger, “In the event of a fire, the fire team will be restricted to using hoses from the exterior of any building. Under no circumstances will a pupil or an employee be permitted to enter a burning building.”

He emphasised that using the School’s student fire fighters during an extended strike by the Fire Brigades Union was only a supplement to normal
procedures for raising the alarm, evacuating buildings and summoning the
emergency services.

Despite the state-of-the-art fire alarm systems installed in Oundle School buildings, it is nevertheless reassuring to see such precautions in place, in the light of this time of doubt and potential danger.