Much ado about nothing...

With it being a Tuesday evening, the great and the good of Normanshurst retained firefighters were congregated ready for parade. But with two minutes to go the bells went for two pumps.

A sight rarely seen other than at Princes Street in Ipswich - two pumps turning out at the same time - a spotters dream!

I was driving Ladder 2 and tucked ourselves in behind White Watch on Ladder 1 for a 'we've got ourselves a convoy' style drive to Lowestoft Railway Station.

And, as the title suggests, it was very much a case of 'much ado about nothing'. Someone had set fire to some old furniture on waste ground behind Commercial Road, which borders onto railway property. Mind you, on the drive there, the pall of black smoke was quite impressive and it seemed we might have a proper job... Alas, no.

And that was that. We arrived back at Normanshurst in time to just miss knocking the new Deputy Chief Fire Officer over in the drillyard. As my old school reports used to say, "Ian must try harder!"