ONE Somerset fire station became a makeshift classroom for police officers eager to learn from firefighters.

Members of the Esk and Toogoolawah police stations, Rural Fire Service and Esk Fire and Rescue Service gathered at the Esk Fire Station to share fundamental knowledge on firefighting equipment.

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Esk Rural Fire Brigade acting captain Denis Buckley said first responders from different departments could work together more effectively if they knew about each other’s equipment. “It’s like if I go into your office and you ask if I can do something – well, no I can’t because I don’t know where that piece of equipment is,” Mr Buckley said.

Esk Police acting officer in charge Sergeant Luke Rowley had the idea to organise meet-ups for Somerset first-response staff to streamline how they work together at emergency scenes.

Taking place last Tuesday night, the first session focused on teaching the locations of where tools were stored.

“(The firefighters) are extensively trained on how to operate their equipment but if they ask us to grab a hose or a piece of safety equipment or even to lift something, we have a better idea of where it is,” Sgt Rowley said.

“It was really informative and it was great to be able to do that in a calm training environment instead of while responding to an emergency.”

He said he learned the reason fire trucks needed to be parked a certain way at the scene of a car crash.

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“They do it because their road crash recovery equipment is on one side of the truck,” he said.

“That’s why sometimes people will see a fire truck or ambulance on the wrong side of the road – because they need to position the vehicle so the equipment is close by.”

Next, Sgt Rowley plans to organise a session with the ambulance service.

“I’m hoping we can engage with the Queensland Ambulance Service to do the same kind of familiarisation with them.”

In an effort to improve emergency response across the Brisbane Valley region, the Esk Police Station has been engaging other local emergency responders.

By gathering for demonstrations of specialist equipment, police officers, fireys and ambos could gain a better familiarity with one another’s equipment.

Read more stories by Ebony Graveur.