Southern Division Crews Take Part in Realistic ‘No Notice’ Training Exercises at Swansea University Bay Campus

Over the course of the last few weeks, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue crews from our Southern Division have completed a series of dynamic operational training exercises at Swansea University’s Bay Campus, marking the beginning of what is expected to become a regular programme of ‘unannounced’ training activities.

By Rachel Kestin

Over the course of the last few weeks, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue crews from our Southern Division have completed a series of dynamic operational training exercises at Swansea University’s Bay Campus, marking the beginning of what is expected to become a regular programme of ‘unannounced’ training activities.

This training is designed to mirror the pressures and unpredictability of real-life emergencies, crews were provided a date, and a meeting point in advance only. This approach allowed the crews to demonstrate their skills, judgement and teamwork under authentic operational conditions rather than rehearsed scenarios. The focus throughout was on learning, not performance, this creating a safe environment where mistakes could be identified, openly discussed and used for future improvement.

Station Manager Richard Davies emphasised the value of this approach:

“High quality, realistic training is essential to maintaining operational competence, confidence and readiness. These no notice exercises give us a valuable opportunity to test our real-life response, reinforce a no blame learning culture, and strengthen trust within our teams so that we are best prepared for when it really matters.”

“The aim of the exercises is to strengthen trust and confidence within teams. Honest reflection, supportive relationships and shared learning are key to creating the right environment for continuous improvement.”

Collaboration played a major role in the success of the exercises with Joint Fire Control (JFC) working closely with crews, enabling realistic testing of mobilisation processes, communications and information flow. Highlighting the importance of strong professional relationships and shared situational awareness between the incident ground and our control room.

The University’s Bay Campus security team also took part, taking the opportunity to test their own emergency procedures and further strengthen cooperation between both organisations.

Nicola Dadd, General Manager of Swansea University Bay Campus said:

“It was a truly valuable experience to host live, no-notice training exercises on campus in partnership with Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. The realism of the scenarios provided an exceptional opportunity for both teams to work together in a controlled but highly authentic environment. As a result, we now have even greater confidence in how we would collectively respond to a real incident on site.

“This partnership has been incredibly positive, and we are keen to continue working together to carry out further exercises in the years ahead, strengthening our preparedness and ensuring the safety of everyone on campus.”

Huge thanks go to the Southern Division SLOs for their work in developing and delivering the scenarios, to JFC for managing mobilisation and radio traffic, and to the Incident Command Structure (ICS) team for providing equipment and command expertise throughout.

These exercises represent an important step in enhancing operational readiness, and further activities are set to be planned, as this approach continues to develop and ensures MAWWFRS firefighters are fully prepared to respond to real life incidents.