A new eco-friendly building for South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s fire engine fleet will be officially opened in Rotherham this week.

The new workshop is now the Service’s main facility for maintaining and repairing fire engines and vehicles.  The facility recently moved from Sheffield’s Wellington Street headquarters as part of a wider project to relocate that building to Eyre Street, Sheffield.

The new workshop, located at Rotherham Fire Station on Fitzwilliam Road, contains all the latest environmental technology to help reduce the Service’s impact on the environment.

A rainwater harvesting system is used to flush the toilets, which will limit the use of treated water.  In addition this will indirectly reduce the energy costs of water treatment.

Meanwhile, free solar energy is being harnessed to provide thermal hot water, and it is hoped that in the near future the site will also benefit from a wind turbine to convert wind energy to electrical energy.

The building also has the infrastructure for photovoltaic panels, which convert solar energy to electrical energy.

The workshop will be officially opened this week by Councillor Jim Andrews, Chair of the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority.  Chief Fire Officer Mark Smitherman will also be present, along with workshop staff and others from the Headquarters Relocation Project Team.

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***Media Invitation***

Reporters and photographers are invited to the official opening ceremony, which starts at 11:30am on Thursday 23 October.  The agenda is as follows:

11.30am  Arrival at the Workshops and refreshments
11.45am  Introductions by the Chief Fire Officer
11.55am  Official opening
12.00pm  Tour of the workshop
12.30pm  Lunch (optional) served in the meeting room at Rotherham fire station

To confirm your attendance please contact Katie Sedgwick on 0114 253 2353 in advance.