CRIT a hit with award judges

AWARD winners . . . (from the left) Andrew Lynch (editor of Fire Magazine), Councillor Tommy Judge (vice-chair of Greater Manchester Fire Authority), Terri Byrne (CRIT project manager), Mark O’Brien (Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service head of transformation) and Paul Fuller (Chief Fire Officer of Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service)

HELPING thousands of people in need has earned Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service a national award.

The service’s Community Risk Intervention Team (CRIT) was named Project of the Year at the Fire Magazine Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards.

The project was set up last year to help people stay safe in their homes and respond to low-priority calls from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) relating to falls in the home, cardiac arrest and concern for welfare.

Since going live, teams have responded to 2,832 calls for GMP and NWAS and have carried out 1,089 prevention visits.

Councillor David Acton, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority chairman, said: “We are delighted to win this award. We have never embarked on a project like this before but we could see an opportunity to support the community and our partners in a different way. Many lives have been saved and situations improved for our residents as a result of CRIT.”

CRIT received the award for its innovation and for taking pressure off the other emergency services and councils.

The project came about after a successful bid to the Government’s Fire Transformation Fund.

For further information and case studies about CRIT visit www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/about_us/what_we_do/key-projects/crit/.