West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said emergency services were called to Long Furlong in Findon at 08:52 GMT.

A spokeswoman said a patient transport vehicle was involved in the fire, which was believed to have started accidentally.

Two fire appliances attended the scene. No-one is believed to have been injured in the incident.

via BBC News

A 93-year-old woman was led out of the property in Great Ellingham by the paramedics before fire crews arrived.

via Teletext .

James Ryan, 29, had a lucky escape last month when he was dramatically rescued by firefighters from a flat in Weymouth after a lit cigarette caused an oxygen cylinder to ignite, trapping him in a room.

After being trapped in a bathroom without an air supply Weymouth firefighters pulled him out of the burning flat.

James, 29, of Weymouth, came away from the incident suffering from smoke inhalation but did not suffer any other injury.

Now he has been presented a specially engraved new stethoscope funded by the South Western Ambulance NHS Trust and medical supply company Medicare in Weymouth.

Read full article: Dorset Echo.

The casualty, who he was treating using an oxygen cylinder, lit a cigarette which sparked a fire that instantly engulfed the room and blocked James’ escape route.

Read full article: Dorset Echo.

Due to its success in supplying fire crews in the county with life saving skills, the co-responder scheme with South Central Ambulance Service is being expanded.

Crews from Bordon, New Milton and Romsey were selected for the scheme in 2004, with others in the north of the county added later.

Now, firefighters at Hythe, Alresford, Andover (retained), Botley, Hamble, Lymington, Petersfield and Ringwood will get the training.

The first six units have been used in around 3,000 medical emergency 999 calls every year and it is hoped with the new units co-responders could save more lives by attending up to 10,000 calls per year.

Read full article: This is Hampshire.

The kit will be carried in a specially designed backpack on all fire engines at Barnet, Finchley, Hendon and Mill Hill fire stations.

Following consultations with the London Ambulance Service, the packs will include defibrillators, suction devices to maintain open airways, cervical spinal collars and improved wound dressings.

The Immediate Emergency Care scheme will mean fire crews can carry out emergency treatment on casualties to the same standards as paramedics.

London Fire Brigade’s borough commander for Barnet, Tom George, said the new kit “will undoubtedly save lives”.

He said: “Every second counts, and in an emergency where we are first on the scene, this kit could increase the chance of a casualty surviving.

“It will be used when we arrive on the scene before paramedics, or when we attend an incident where paramedics might struggle to get to the casualty, such as when there is blocked access or an unsafe structure.

“It also allows firefighters to look after each other if the need to provide emergency treatment arises.”

Firefighters will be given the equipment and extra training to provide urgent medical care until paramedics arrive.

The scheme will be introduced to around one quarter of London Fire Brigade’s vehicles each year, with the full roll out of equipment and staff training being completed within three years.

Read full article: Times Series.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show police cars, ambulances and fire engines crashed 592 times on the county’s streets in 2008.

Most of the crashes were minor, and bosses say accidents are a necessary consequence of rushing to incidents. The figures also appear to be falling.

Fire engines were involved in 52 crashes in 2008, down from 71 the previous year.

Lancashire Police recorded 430 accidents, compared to 451, and North West Ambulance Service recorded 110 crashes in Lancashire in the first nine months of the 2008/09 year, roughly in line with the previous year’s total of 139.

Read full article: Lancashire Telegraph.