After successful trials in Bordon, Hampshire's ambulance and fire and rescue services have joined forces to form a "co-responder" scheme. The new initiative will see specially-trained firefighters providing medical treatment to members of the public until emergency ambulances arrive. It is hoped that this ability to provide quicker treatment will help save lives. The ambulance service has provided training in basic life saving skills as well as the use of semi-automatic defibrillators and oxygen. "It's been going very well. It started off very busy but now it has settled down a bit," explained Kevin Francis, sub -officer at Bordon Fire Station. "We only get mobilised to life-threatening incidents such as heart and breathing problems, so we can guarantee someone getting there quickly. "Of the 17 people we have at the station, there are 13 who are working on the project. Whoever is on call has the vehicle either at home or at the work place. We get a call direct from ambulance control in Winchester who give us details of the address and the sort of incident. We proceed there in the vehicle." The project leader of the scheme, Rob Cole of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, believes that the pilot scheme has been a success. "The trial has been running since the middle of last year and in that time we have assisted approximately 450 people," he said. The majority of patients we attend to are suffering from chest pains or breathing difficulties - so it is critical that they are reached within five minutes to try to prevent their condition from deteriorating. "Under this new partnership, a person who has received life-saving training, a co-responder, can be on the scene very quickly and assist the patient until the ambulance arrives. We are delighted to be involved because our overarching aim is to make Hampshire safer". The Hampshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust is also very pleased with the new initiative and it believes that the collaboration will only benefit the public. "This is an excellent example of collaborative working between Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and ourselves which benefits the people of Hampshire," said Dave Watts, deputy director of patient services at the Ambulance Service Trust. "There is clear clinical evidence that rapid basic life saving skills, with the use of semi- automatic defibrillators and oxygen administration ,saves lives." "We look forward to developing this innovative scheme further in partnership with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service," he added.