Fire Service to begin lifeboat training this weekend

Friday 24 November 2017

Fire Service staff are to begin an intensive lifeboat training course this weekend in a bid to get St Helier’s inshore lifeboat up and running as soon as possible.

The boat was left without a crew to staff it after the RNLI took the decision to stand down coxswain Andy Hibbs and his St Helier crew following an internal dispute.

Since then, the Fire and Rescue Service, who are required by law to tend to problems at sea within three nautical miles of the island’s coasts, have agreed to work with the RNLI.

A troupe of firefighters already trained as Advanced Powerboat Instructors will assist in the process of bringing the lifeboat back into service, and a number of Fire Service staff will be upskilled during a bespoke training programme. 

Their training will start this weekend and continue next week.

Video: The Fire and Rescue Service using their inshore rescue boat in 2014. (Fire & Rescue)

The Fire Service’s lifesaving duties at sea extend back several decades. Since the early 1960s, they have launched their inshore rescue boats over 3,000 times.

Chief Fire Officer Mark James said that they hoped that their partnership with the RNLI would help them continue this mission.

He commented: “If by training my firefighters to help crew and operate the St Helier Inshore lifeboat (ILB) we can protect more lives at sea and the safety of the firefighters, then this must be the right thing to do in the current circumstances. 

“I hope in the longer term that St Helier Lifeboat Station can return to full operational duties but in the meantime we will do whatever we can to ensure the safety of the public.”

This latest collaboration with the RNLI touches upon a long history between the two organisations. The island’s former ‘Zodiac’ inshore rescue boat caught the eye of the RNLI’s lifeboat inspector David Stogdon in the 1960s. That led the RNLI to build a similar fleet which later evolved into the RIBs in use today. 

Looking to the future, Minister for the Environment Deputy Steve Luce pledged his support in ensuring a smooth transition back to a “state of readiness.”

Pictured: Deputy Steve Luce pledged to "work tirelessly" to get the island's Search and Rescue service "back to where they should be", and promised to provide the public with regular progress updates.

Although the government have no official responsibility for lifeboats, the Minister said that he would use his experience as an RNLI volunteer of nearly 30 years to liaise with all parties, including the former St Helier crew.

“I met with the ex-crew of the St. Helier Lifeboat to discuss their plans for independent lifeboats. They presented their plans, and we discussed how Government and the Coastguard might help further their ideas. Any proposal to put viable and sustainable Search and Rescue Assets (SAR) assets back on station will be provided with appropriate support,” he explained.

Meanwhile, recruitment for a new St Helier RNLI crew is due to begin next week. Around 12 volunteers have already expressed interest in the role. They will be provided with intensive training in both Jersey and at the RNLI’s training centre in Poole on how to use both the inshore and all-weather lifeboats, which should be returned to island waters before the end of the year.