Local rail operator Trenitalia c2c has welcomed a group of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service firefighters for a tour of its fleet to ensure the service has a good understanding of the trains in case of an emergency. 

Led by Simon Smith, one of c2c's most experienced operations trainers, it was designed to give fighterfighters detailed insight into the layout of both the Class 357 and Class 720 trains, to ensure the service has a good understanding of the trains in case of an emergency. 

Simon, who has worked at c2c for 20 years and is a subject matter expert in operations training, said, "Sadly, emergencies can happen on the railway and this was an opportunity to provide the crew with some enhanced technical insight into the designs of both Class of trains we run on our network. 

"I would like to thank the crew who came to the depot as they had years of experience in attending critical and major incidents between them and took the training incredibly seriously.

"We were able to have some important conversations which in certain scenarios should aid their response and may contribute to the preservation of life."

Mark Kyprianou, temporary watch manager at Basildon Fire Station, said, "Today was very good. It was great to have some practical training and we would definitely recommend this to colleagues and do something like this again. We'd certainly like to come back and do further training and exercises." 

The training session was facilitated by Seray Fenn, Service Delivery Manager at c2c's Shoeburyness depot.

Seray added, "We really enjoyed hosting the crew at Shoeburyness and look forward to building on this important relationship. The crew will be sharing their learning with other colleagues to ensure the knowledge benefits crews beyond Basildon Watch and we will be setting up further tours of the trains over the coming months."