A handful of firefighters from Greater Manchester have flown out to Turkey to join international rescue efforts after the recent devastating earthquakes.
Rescue teams are still desperately searching for survivors in southern Turkey and northern Syria after two huge earthquakes and several powerful aftershocks hit the region on Monday – with the first 7.8 magnitude quake having near Gaziantep in the early hours of Monday, followed by a 7.5 magnitude tremor just a few hours later.
More than 8,700 people are now known to have been killed.
As search efforts to find survivors under the rubble have continued for a second freezing-cold night, there are warnings the death toll could continue to surge today.
Several international rescue missions have been set up in the wake of the disaster, and it’s now been revealed that four firefighters from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) flew out to the affected area yesterday as part of the UK International Search and Rescue Team (UK-ISAR).
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Four firefighters from Greater Manchester have joined the UK-ISAR team deployed to help the search and rescue operation in Turkey, following the devastating earthquakes that affected southern areas of the country.
— Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (@manchesterfire) February 7, 2023
The UK-ISAR is a volunteer service made up of specialists from 15 fire and rescue services, who are deployed to humanitarian incidents or disasters anywhere in the world.
The brave firefighters from the GMFRS includes Ramsbottom Station Manager Martin Foran, firefighter David Hedgecock from Ashton, and firefighter Steven Pennington from Leigh.
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“Our thoughts go out to the many thousands across Turkey and Syria who have tragically lost loved ones and livelihoods in these earthquakes, and to the emergency responders working to locate and rescue survivors,” commented Assistant Chief Fire Officer Barry Moore.
“We know that those rescue efforts are taking place in challenging winter conditions, compounding what is already a very difficult operation.
Rescue teams are still desperately searching for survivors in southern Turkey and northern Syria / Credit: Oxfam (via Twitter)
“Four of our firefighters have now arrived in Turkey and will rapidly be deployed to assist search and rescue operations in the affected areas.
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“As part of the UK-ISAR team, they are trained in the use of specialist skills and equipment and ready to respond to any humanitarian disaster that takes place anywhere in the world.”
This isn’t the first time GMFRS firefighters have been deployed as part of UK-ISAR.
They were deployed to respond to floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014, the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011, and the earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010.
Rules around booking driving tests in UK change from today to make system ‘fairer’
Emily Sergeant
The rules around booking driving tests in the UK are officially set to change from today in a bid to make the system ‘fairer’.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has now introduced new rules for car driving test bookings, putting learners ‘firmly in control’ of their own booking, as it is now against the law for third parties – including unofficial test booking and cancellation finder services, as well as driving instructors – to make bookings for someone else.
It will also be a breach of DVSA’s terms and conditions for the booking service for third parties to change, swap, or cancel a driving test for someone else.
Learners should only ever pay the official DVSA fee – which is £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
The Government says the new rules aim to make booking driving tests ‘fairer’ for learner drivers.
While driving instructors will no longer be able to book tests on behalf of of learners, they will still be able to advise learners on when they are ready to take a test, as well as set their available times to prevent learners from booking tests at times that do not work for them.
Following on from changes to test alterations which were introduced at the end of March, from 9 June 2026, further restrictions will come into force limiting learners to moving their test only to one of the three nearest driving test centres.
The DVSA has also pledged to continue increasing driving examiner capacity to help provide more tests for learners to book.
“Our priority is to stop learners being exploited by third parties, put them in control of their driving test, and make the process fairer by clamping down on businesses that resell tests at inflated prices,” commented Beverley Warmington, who is the DVSA Chief Executive.
“These new measures help bring a halt to a system where the use of bots and third parties increases the amount some learners pay for a test and blocks test availability for many others.
“These measures will help free up appointments for genuine learners who are ready to take their test.”
Featured Image – Pxfuel
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Canal Street cordoned off after ‘suspicious chemicals’ reported at hotel
Daisy Jackson
Canal Street and several other streets in the Gay Village in Manchester have been cordoned off this afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police are attending reported of a smell that’s believed to be chemicals coming from a hotel room in the area.
There’s a huge emergency services presence in the area, including vehicles from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, and the North West Ambulance Service.
Police have confirmed that they have detained a man who is believed to have been the occupant of the hotel room.
The hotel itself has been evacuated while the material is examined.
Thankfully, no one has been injured in the incident that has shut down part of Canal Street today.
Emergency services vehicles at the scene on Canal StreetThe cordon in place on Canal Street
GMP said in a statement: “We are currently searching a hotel room at a premises on Canal Street, Manchester. This follows a report of a smell – currently believed to be chemicals – causing suspicion.
“A man, believed to be the occupant of the room, has been detained and is currently in custody.
“As a precautionary measure, the hotel has been evacuated while specialist resources examine the material and conduct further enquiries.
“No-one has been injured and we are working to establish the full circumstances. We thank people for their patience as we continue with our work.”
Emily Sergeant -
8th February 2023 
