FIREFIGHTERS have carried out training exercises to ensure they are prepared in the event of a fire on Bournemouth Pier.

Crews from Springbourne, Westbourne, Redhill Park, Poole and Christchurch battled two simulated blazes on Tuesday and a third on Friday morning last week.

A planned exercise on Wednesday had to be cancelled due to genuine emergencies.

Drawing water from the Bourne using a high volume pump from Christchurch, firefighters from different watches competed against each other to get eight main line hose jets trained on the pier in the quickest possible time.

District Commander for Springbourne and Westbourne, Steve Underhill said: “We wanted to simulate a significant fire on the pier involving the wooden decking.

“Although there is a relatively low risk to life, the pier is very popular and a great asset to the town and we wouldn’t like to see it go up in smoke.

“Unfortunately, we can’t just take the water from the sea, the salt interferes with our equipment among other problems.

“But we have proven that we can get a sustainable water supply from the Bourne which is great.”

He said that during the evening exercise on Tuesday a Chinese lantern let off from Poole landed on the pier, demonstrating how easily a fire could start at any time.

They were supported by the RNLI, who helped them deal with the unique challenges of fighting fire on such an unusual structure.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service last tested its ability to battle a pier blaze in 2008.

Bournemouth councillor David Smith said: “Our local fire crews and RNLI crews do an incredible job of keeping Bournemouth residents and visitors safe.

“The high value Dorset Fire and Rescue Service places on these exercises demonstrates their commitment to public safety and the professionalism with which they carry out their work as well as ensuring they will be well prepared should such an incident on the pier ever occur.”