HAMPSHIRE firefighters are being given higher levels of medical training to help them save more lives.

Crews being also been given new packs of equipment after the introduction of the Immediate Emergency Care (IEC) project.

All frontline vehicles will also be equipped with defibrillators, entonox medical nitrous oxide and oxygen mixture, and major haemorrhage control devices.

Group manager Rob Cole, who oversees fire as a health asset project for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The IEC is a major step forward in saving lives. We are often the first on the scene at incidents requiring medical intervention. A firefighter who has been medically trained to a high level and is armed with the right equipment can be the difference between life and death.

“We deal with a casualty until the arrival of an ambulance at which point we hand on the care to paramedics.

“There is no doubt giving our firefighters enhanced training and additional equipment will save lives.”

Mr Cole is in charge of a numberous of other projects that help protect the public – including the co-responders scheme, which has been run in partnership with South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) for 12 years.

Firefighters who act as co-responders are trained by the ambulance service and now attend about 13,000 medical calls a year in dedicated response vehicles, helping to save countless lives. The team has also recently established the safety through education and exercise for resilience (STEER) course. It aims to reduce the chances of falls among elderly people.

Qualified trainers help pensioners stay fit via everyday activities such as packing shopping and making cups of tea. The project has been show to reduce falls by 20 percent.

The service has also launched a course to promote healthy living among young people via firefighter-related activities and fun outings.