- FSCTE Manston
FSCTE Manston is the Ministry of Defence Fire Service Central Training Establishment, based near the village of
Manston , in the north east corner ofKent ,England . It is located on part of the site of the formerRoyal Air Force base,RAF Manston .The remainder of the former RAF site (including the runway) is now part of
Kent International Airport , a civilian, commercial airfield.History
RAF Manston played host to
firefighter training since 1959, and in 1989 the RAF consolidated the RAF Fire Fighting and Rescue Squadron fromRAF Catterick to Manston, forming the RAF Fire Services Central Training Establishment (CTE). [cite web|url=http://www.fscte.org/|title=Ministry of Defence FSCTE|accessdate=2007-06-29]In 1995, the station was chosen to be the central training facility for all MOD firefighter training operations, and became MOD FSCTE.
On 31st March 1999, the remainder of RAF Manston closed, leaving FSCTE as the sole occupant of the previous domestic side of the base. The airside part of the base was signed over to the existing commercial operator to form Kent International Airport. [cite web|title=History of RAF Manston|publisher=RAF Manston History Museum|url=http://www.rafmanston.co.uk/history.html|accessdate=2007-06-29]
Museum
Inside the base, the old RAF CTE building is now a museum of firefighting, especially as it relates to the RAF, called the 'Manston Fire Museum'. It has a number of historic
fire appliance s, including some previously used on the base. [cite web|title=Manston Fire Museum|url=http://www.manstonfiremuseum.com/mfm_home.html|accessdate=2007-06-29]References
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