Background to MF&RS Marine Rescue Unit

The MF & RS �Marine Rescue Unit� maintains a continuous 24-hour a day, 365 days a year service is maintained, providing a rapid and effective rescue service for all river users. MF & RS Marine Rescue Unit has a scope of operation that includes 60 miles of coastline.

In 2006 Merseyside Fire Authority agreed to invest in a new and improved rescue craft that would better equip rescue crews for the demands placed upon them in the unique environment of the Mersey Estuary and provide a much improved level of protection for the community. They appointed Liverpool Boat Manufacturers �Marine Specialised Technology� (MST) to construct a boat that was fit for purpose.

The Boat, the �MST Rescue 1000� was brought into Service in 2008. Capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots, the boat is 10.5 meters in length and is powered by twin 370 hp diesel engines. The Boat is kept permanently on the water and is continually manned.

This provision combined with the boats exceptional capabilities means that most casualties are recovered from the water within 3 minutes of the Rescue Launch being called out. It is this rapid and skilled response that invariably makes a life or death difference.

Since its first year of operation in 1984 the Service has attended over 4,500 incidents and has assisted nearly 3,500 people. Additionally, the Service has gone to the assistance of more than 2,000 vessels found to be in difficulty or distress. Many of the crew are in receipt of multiple Resuscitation Awards from the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society.

As part of its commitment to make the River Mersey a safer place, MF & RS is at the front line in terms of developing new rescue techniques and equipment. This philosophy has in recent years seen the introduction of equipment like the �Pathfinder Rescue Sled� and also the �Slide Raft� a 60 man, tow-able rescue raft. The MRU became was the first Rescue Service in the world to use the raft on fast flowing tidal waters.

Boat Crew�s are trained as Rescue Swimmers and are able to utilise a range of rescue equipment including rope systems.

Environment

The Mersey Estuary is an area of water penetrating 50 kilometers into a densely populated area of NW England. Three rivers form the Mersey: the River Etherow, the River Goyt and the River Tame. It broadens into an estuary at Ellesmere Port and proceeds via Liverpool and Birkenhead to the Irish Sea.

The River Mersey has contributed more to the development of Liverpool than any other feature. Even today the Mersey is still busy with container and tanker ships moving in and out, along with ferries and numerous pleasure craft.

Approximately 2 million people live within 5 miles of its shores. It has been an important artery for seaborne traffic for many centuries. Its banks are heavily industrialised but, despite this, the estuary is of international importance for its wildlife.

The River Mersey is an extremely dangerous river presenting many different types of hazard. The Mersey has the third fastest tidal run in Europe, with the speed of the water exceeding 10 knots in places.