A PILOT scheme where firefighters help paramedics break into buildings when there’s thought to be a medical emergency inside has proved successful.

County councillors have been told that firefighters are arriving on the scene far quicker than the average police response time.

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Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service began the pilot six weeks ago at all county stations and reported their preliminary findings back to a full meeting of the fire authority.

Deputy chief fire officer Justin Johnson said that the “breaking and entry” initiative had come into play 69 times during the first quarter of 2015-16.

He said: “The service’s response time was between six-and-a-half minutes and eight minutes, whereas the average police response time had been 24 minutes.

“On occasions the service had arrived before the ambulance service.

Earlier this year, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed the fire service and NWAS (North West Ambulance Service) were trialling a separate joint “first responder” scheme in Ormskirk and Morecambe, combining the abilities of paramedics and firefighters for call-outs.

Chris Kenny, the county’s chief fire officer told the authority that the service was taking a “risk-based approach” in both of the ongoing pilot schemes.

He said: “There could be occasions when fire engines might be unavailable to attend a fire from the nearest station due to undertaking the additional activity and in these situations the fire engine would be despatched from the next nearest station.

“The benefits, however, of responding to the additional activities outweighed this risk.”

Forty-five calls had so far been dealt with under the pilot, with feedback so far being “positive” from the public and NWAS staff, the meeting heard.