Cosalt secures 8 year PPE contract with Fire & Rescue Services

20 July 2010

A collaborative project involving 12 Fire and Rescue Services has led to a major new framework agreement for firefighters' protective clothing.

The kit - known as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - includes fire tunics and over-trousers, hoods, helmets, boots and gloves and forms part of a long-term agreement which has the potential to be the largest PPE framework agreement in the UK, with a possible total spend of at least £30million.

On behalf of the 12 services across South Eastern and Eastern England, Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has signed the agreement with protective clothing providers Cosalt International Ltd.

"The main aim was to provide the best possible PPE for our firefighters," says KFRS Assistant Director Sean Bone-Knell who led the project. He added: "The framework agreement is an excellent example of fire and rescue services working together, to provide a system that will ensure a standard set of PPE for firefighters across the region and with increased protection through a higher technical specification.  "It has also assisted participating FRSs by reducing procurement costs and back office functions."

Mark Lejman, CEO of Cosalt said: "We are delighted to be awarded this prestigious contract.  We are proud of the strong relationships we have built up with the Fire and Rescue Services in the South East region over the last eight years, and we look forward to continuing to provide the critical safety equipment and clothing as part of our high quality of service."

Other FRSs throughout the country are also able to participate in this four year framework agreement, contracts against which can last for up to eight years. The services involved so far are Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Royal Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Luton.