Tuesday 7th February 2017 – 1.30pm – Jamie Arrowsmith
Thanks to the generosity of the community within which they work, Alveley Community First Responders (CFRs) have proudly unveiled their brand new and improved response car.
As well as offering increased reliability, it’s 4×4 capabilities will bring obvious benefits in the rural area in which the group responds. It also boasts the new high visibility West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) CFR livery which will make it safer for the team when mobilising to incidents.
The new car features two-way radio with the Emergency Operations Centres at WMAS, which will allow faster response to 999 emergencies and more frequent updates about the job they are attending.
The car has been purchased thanks to kind donations received from members of the general public and charity organisations based in and around the village of Alveley and the Severn Valley.
A substantial proportion of the money was received when Alveley CFRs joined forces with other CFR schemes within the Bridgnorth and District CFR group after being nominated as Bridgnorth Sainsbury’s Charity of the Year for 2015-16.
Scheme member Martin Hill, said: “We are extremely grateful and humbled for the donations and kind comments we regularly receive from all over our community and would like to thank all those who support us.
“The scheme has been running for 12 years now and has provided immediate and lifesaving care for many residents and visitors throughout our community in that time.
“Our scheme relies solely on voluntary donations from both the public and charity organisations. We have annual rising costs that have to be met along with updating or replacing key equipment such as defibrillators, all of which are there to save lives and assist our community during times of medical emergency.
“The village residents regularly support events that are organised by the community to raise funds which is truly fantastic. It would be great also to secure sponsorship from local businesses. We now have a high visibility car that would provide any corporate sponsor with a great advertising opportunity.
“We are also looking for others to join the scheme to help fundraise, we want to keep this scheme going into the future.”
There are currently three members of the Alveley CFRs, who between them provide voluntary cover seven days a week as well as maintaining full time jobs. They are trained by and support WMAS on 999 calls, providing immediate medical assistance for people in their community whilst waiting for a WMAS resource to arrive at the scene.
The scheme covers a rural area in a four mile radius around Alveley, but also support WMAS on calls when required anywhere between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth including areas such as Arley, Six Ashes, Bobbington, Kinver and Wolverley.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
Pictured (l-r) – Lisa Yeomans, Martin Hill and Mike Nixon.