Page 3 Profile: Andy Hitchens, tri-service safety officer

Andy Hitchens, tri-service safety officer

That’s a lot of hats for one person.

Andy Hitchens deserves them, though. He is the first person in the country who is able to respond to emergency calls from the police, fire and ambulance services.

He sounds like a one-man emergency service.

As a tri-service safety officer in Hayle, Cornwall, Hitchen’s role encompasses a firefighter, emergency first responder and police community support officer all in one. Hitchens, a firefighter for eight years, told PoliceOracle.com: “I really enjoyed being in the fire service and when I saw this position come up I thought it was a great opportunity, as they are all very exciting, adrenaline-filled roles. I’ve always taken a lot of interest in other services so thought I may as well go for it and a lot of skills I gained from the fire service are transferable.”

It must’ve taken a lot of training.

It took five months actually. The 28-year-old said: “As part of my training for the job, I completed the full 10-week PCSO course as well as shadowing the neighbourhood beat manager, so I got a feel of what the day-to-day role of an officer was.”

So does he get to drive an ambulance van, police car and fire engine?

Hitchens will get behind the wheel of a tri-service electric car for police and co-responder calls. And in the case of a fire, he will try to return to the station to join the on-call crew.

The former carpenter is now based at the Hayle Tri-Service Centre, a £1m pilot scheme where all three emergency services are based.

Will there be a tri-service future across the UK?

Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton said tri-service officers provided local communities with a dedicated local officer and tri-service buildings would make for more effective responses to emergencies.

However, Hitchens said that tri-service officers would not work so well in cities: “I’m not saying tri-service officers are the way forward, but I do think it is a good thing for all of us to be under one roof as it helps us to get a better understanding of one another – we can train and communicate more easily.”