Its been a busy 6 months for BLSAR, we have been involded in 37 incidents (inc assists), and 83 exercises, some in conjunction with RBFRS to fine tune our joint capabilities.

In early June, we were invited by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) to participate in an underground exercise involving missing persons. This exercise aimed to assess our joint capabilities in various rescue scenarios. It was an interesting day that highlighted our broad range of skills and equipment and demonstrated how effectively we can work together when needed.

We also assisted RBFRS Crews from Crowthorne, Bracknell, Ascot, Wokingham, Wokingham Road, Whitley Wood, Caversham, and Slough using our drones thermal capabilities in the Broadmoor fire to isolate the hotspots in the buildings so that RBFRS could direct their hoses more effectively. 

Using two of our drones , and our supply of drone batteries we were able to keep our drones airborne for a few hours in 20 minute stints giving them almost continuous coverage in the latter stages of the fire. RBFRS later commented how useful our live streaming of the drones video and thermal feed was in the fighting of the fire. 

We have also been exceptionally busy with our usual callouts. While we cannot comment on the exact nature of these incidents, but, we have participated in numerous searches on both land and water in conjunction with Thames Valley Police.

Additionally, we are pleased to announce 11 new recruits coming online, bringing fresh enthusiasm and a wide range of skills to our team, many have already been actively involved in various searches.

NEW: Finally, we are pleased to announce our own YouTube channel, which will feature a brand new 3 minute video to raise public awareness and encourage funding. Check back June 28th to see the video, please ensure you like and share the video on its release. The more we can publicise our existance the better.

Our YouTube channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@BLSAR-TEAM