News Beat
Fire training centre at Teesside Airport set to close
The International Fire Training Centre (IFTC) – which has been based at the airport since 1981 – has announced it will be closing later this year.
Outsourcing company Serco, which operates the IFTC, said changing customer needs and other external factors had led to the decision.
The Northern Echo understands the centre will close to customers when current programmes end, which is currently scheduled to be around the end of February.
A spokesperson said: “Changing customer needs and other external factors mean the International Fire Training Centre is no longer viable.
“We are consulting with staff on the closure of the centre and are doing all we can to support colleagues.”
The Echo understands staff have now entered into consultation but that there is a chance the centre could be saved if a new buyer is found.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the news was “deeply concerning” and that teams were doing “everything they can to help find a buyer for the facility”.
He said: “It’s deeply concerning to hear of Serco’s plans to halt operations at the International Fire Training Centre.
“This is a facility with a record of success over decades now facing the axe as another casualty of a Government that is making it harder and harder for businesses to survive and continues to wreck our local economy.
“Our airport has been a home to this brilliant centre since the early 1980s, hosting crews from all over the globe.
“Our teams are doing everything they can to help find a buyer for the facility and support the staff affected by this uncertainty.”
The news of the closure comes less than four years after Serco signed a ten-year lease with the airport, securing more than 50 jobs at the time.
Bosses behind the site said they were looking forward to a “bright future” when the new deal was struck back in 2022.
As of late 2022, the IFTC employed more than 50 people, but also had another 100 associate instructors on board.
The centre has trained firefighters for more than 40 years from more than 70 countries, providing a variety of courses and life-saving guidance for thousands each year.
