Alerter - the firefighters blog

House fire, Lowestoft - Make Pumps 4

In this last few weeks we seem to keep picking up shouts between 1630hrs and 1800hrs and yesterday was no exception.

I'd left work a few minutes earlier than normal and saw Ladder 1 leave the fire station on blue lights. Just a minute later, as I put my key in the door, my alerter springs to life. Indoors, say "Hello and Goodbye", and back out of the door and jog over to the station.

No lights were up and a copy of the tip sheet showed that Ladder 1 and Clifton were going to a garage fire in Kirkley Run, Lowestoft. However, to be on the safe side, I always call Control just to get confirmation that we are in on standby - and this was the case. Control were on the ball in calling us in as they will usually wait 15 minutes before calling in the retained firefighters on standby.
But, just as we got a crew, the bells went for Ladder 2 - the job had now gone to Make Pumps 3.

I was driver for Ladder 2 but hit a problem when she wouldn't go into gear. This normally signifies that the throttle lock is still in but we checked this and all was OK. After a few failed attempts we transferred onto the PRT and Gary called Control to inform them of the situation. And as this was happening the bells went again - now it was Make Pumps 4.

Because of the problem with Ladder 2 Control alerted Wrentham instead, mobilising them to the job.

So, now on the PRT, we headed through the heavy traffic on Normanston Drive - the tailback was nearly up to the Normanston Park roundabout.

It never ceases to amaze me how people drive. I'm sure it's with their hands over their eyes, cotton wool stuffed in their ears and the roadsense of a three year old! We're driving 14 tons of red and yellow that is flashing blue lights from all corners and is making enough noise to wake the dead, yet they still seem surprised when you hove into view.
They pull out of junctions without really taking in what's coming, or pull out across the road before their way is clear making me drive as if in a slalom. And on last nights drive they were coming at us thick and fast!

We pulled up at the incident to see flames licking from around the roof tiles and a fire still going well in the integral garage.

Mark Saunders and Greg Osborne were needed immediately as BA wearers, going into one of the two properties affected. The rest of the crew - myself, Gary Smart (OIC) and Peter Read pitched a 9m ladder to the left of the dormer window. Gary and myself then donned BA and climbed this 9m ladder, transferring onto a roof ladder. Gary was removing tiles, sliding them down to me and I dropped them over the edge of the roof. The fire in the roof space and been largely dealt with by the BA teams that had entered the house on the groundfloor and then worked their way up two flights of stairs.

After about 15 minutes we had removed enough tiles and retired to the ground. After ditching the BA sets, myself and Mark were up the ladders again. This time I was first, carrying a hosereel. I removed more tiles, sliding them down to Mark and also giving the roof space a good drink.

Back off the roof and our crew were tasked with continuing the removal of debris from the top floor bedroom.

And that was about it for us.

Red Watch and Clifton had done well to hit the fire hard, stopping it from spreading to adjoining properties.

The Hydraulic Platform from Great Yarmouth and its support pump were made up for but not required, so were able to get themselves back off home.

So, having been putting my key in the door at just before 5 and my alerter going off, I was able to re-enact the door opening ceremony just after 8!

This incident in the news:
Lowestoft Journal

Single vehicle RTC, St.Mary's Road, Beccles

February is getting to be a busy month for the retained firefighters at Normanshurst. We haven't seen this rate of shouts for a number of years, possibly back to the days when we used to attend more two pump AFA's.

We've had 16 shouts so far this month ranging from non-events to the full-on RTC a week ago with four persons trapped including two police officers...

Yesterday saw my alerter summon me at around 1640hrs. When I got over to the fire station I could see that none of the turnout lights were up so it looked like a standby for us. The Watch had tipped out on the PRT but the tip sheet said NT01 going to an RTC in Beccles. I thought the printout was in error and that Blue Watch had taken the PRT instead, given the nature of the incident.

So straight on the blower to Control just to check that we were on standby. I've done this countless times and always get the same reply, "Yes, you're on standby". But not this time. "No, you're not on standby, you're going".

With no lights up anyone arriving for the shout just tends to amble in, assuming that we're not going anywhere. The turnout lights can be operated manually from above the printer and this is where I headed after my call to Control.

I'd got the drivers tally for Ladder 1 and we made our way out into the early evening traffic.

As we approached the railway crossing in Oulton Broad the barriers were coming down ready for the arrival of the Norwich train. Thankfully the signalman was on the ball and raised the barriers for us to proceed.

The alerters were going off again. Beccles were having problems getting a crew so Control were mobilising Ladder 2 to the incident as well. It wasn't till we were half way to Beccles that we heard the Beccles crew book mobile.

It's a decent drive out to Beccles giving the driver the chance to get into the swing of things. Our normal turnout is to within a mile of Normanshurst, so you're there before you know it...

We arrived to find a car that had collided with an electricity supply pole. It looked like the car had been exiting a driveway and accelerated into the pole (possibly an automatic and the wrong pedal being used!). Our services weren't required as paramedics and the Beccles crew removed the driver through the doorway - no cutting being required.

And that was that. Just a slow, leisurely drive back to Lowestoft in time for tea and medals...

Fire in tumble dryer...

I had just left off work and was driving home when I felt that familiar vibration on my left hip, accompanied by the persistent, shrill call that signals another shout.

Even though I'd got a head start, it still seemed to take an age to get to the fire station.

I was actually second in behind Ballsy who was surprised at being in first. In six years that's got to be a record. He was literally driving in to the station yard to book off when the alerters went off, so he couldn't have failed to be first in!

We were off to Berkeley Gardens which isn't far from Normanshurst to reports of a fire in a tumble dryer.

Green Watch already had two BA in the house and had dealt with the fire, situated in the utility room.

It seems that the fire was discovered when the home owner and her children arrived back home. They were very obviously distressed and were being cared for by neighbours.

The utility room was well and truly smoke blackened, with smoke damage also to the rest of the property.

Unfortunately the two pet cats succumbed to the smoke and were found in separate parts of the house.

And, having seen the devastation caused by a relatively small fire, it's worth remembering to close all doors and I, personally, wouldn't leave a tumble dryer, washing maching or dishwasher on when going out.

It could have been far worse though. There were no fatalities (except the cats) and the arrival home of the house owner then and not later meant that the fire didn't get a chance to develop further...

Road Safety adverts...

This one makes you jump...

Wear a seatbelt...

RTC involving police car, 4 persons trapped

A shout in the early hours of Valentines Day proved that my alerter was still working... In my haste to get to an earlier shout I had dropped the alerter into a cup of black coffee and watched as the red lights continued to flash from the murky depths. A change of battery and all was well. Perhaps Datanet have actually made a firefighter proof alerter.

Anyway, back to the story.

Just before 2am I was hot footing it around the hall trying to dress as my alerter did its very best to wake the neighbourhood.

As I legged it out of my driveway I could see that the doors to two of the bays were open and two pumps had already mobilised. Even to my half awake brain I knew that I hadn't taken more than a minute or so to get out of the house. How on Earth could one of the retained pumps have made it out before I even got out of my front door. As I was getting dressed I heard a pump leave the station and assumed it was the Watch. This would have been quick for them too as I am normally heading up the road as they pull away.

I ran in to find Cheesey there speaking to Control. It seems that there had been an alerter failure meaning that only half of the retained firefighters had got the first shout, probably ten minutes before my alerter had gone off. Control must have wondered what was going on because we always ring them when we have another crew on station and available. This hadn't happened because those arriving in the first wave had all gone out on Ladder 1. Cheesey got Control to activate the alerters again, just in case, and to ensure that we got enough crew to mobilse.

The PRT with Green Watch on board had mobilised with a retained crew on Ladder 1 and Clifton Road to an RTC on Tom Crisp Way on the south side of the bridge. The alerters had been set off again at 01:57 (when my alerter went off) as the incident had gone to Make Pumps Four.

The tip sheet notified us that it was a two vehicle RTC (one of which was a police car) and that there were four persons trapped.

When we arrived at the incident we were greeted by the sight of feverish activity around the two cars. We were tasked with setting up an equipment dump near to the car that was situated in the middle of the road. Cutting gear, GlassMaster, DP extinguisher, teardrop, half-sheets, goggles, combi-tool, ram, generator, lighting and all the other paraphenalia that may be needed.
We worked on this car, along with the Clifton Road crew - stabilising, managing the glass, getting the roof off. A paramedic, myself and several police officers did our best to persuade the driver to leave his car. He wasn't trapped, didn't have any signs of internal or external injuries but refused to leave the car. He said he was in pain and we told him that this could be dealt with when he was in the ambulance. We also told him that it would make it easier for us to deal with his passenger if he was out of the way.

Once the driver was out of the way we were able to get the long board down behind the front seat passenger and begin to slide him onto it. He was then strapped on and removed over the back of the car.

Focus for us now shifted on to the police car. Green Watch plus the first Normanshurst retained crew had been working their socks off to release the two Special Constables. Their car was positioned rather precariously on the grass verge, leaning over to its left on the edge of a fairly steep embankment. Stab-fast was in use to prevent the car slipping or rolling down to the cycle path, 2 metres below. The officers had been very luck that the car hadn't rolled down the slope as a direct result of the side on impact from the other car.

By the time we moved over to the police car, the driver had been released having suffered injuries to one of his legs. Gaining access to the other officer was proving more difficult. His door had been stoved in by the impact of the other car. In fact you could make out the shape of the nose of the car in the passenger door. The officer had taken the full force of the impact and wwas in considerable pain.

It was impossible to get the long-board down his back so the decision was taken to try and remove the passenger door even though it looked too mangled to budge. However, after some delicate work with the spreaders we wree able to swing the door open just enough to give us room to work.

The long-board was put up to the door opening, not forgetting that we're all working on a steep slope, as the officer was gently laid on to the board. He was secured to the board and then carried down the slope to the waiting paramedics and their trolley.

Then just a case of making up all the gear and returningto Normanshurst. Finally got home at about 04:40 and, knowing how long it takes me to get to sleep, I stayed up! Sad git...

I would have liked to have given a description of what actually happened, the events leading up to the collision. But I would have had to pepper the blog with so many occurences of 'alledgedly' that it wasn't worth it. When I see reports in the press then I'll update the blog...

Other links...

EADT - Man bailed after police smash horror

BBC - Injured police still in hospital

Firebreak is a success in Waveney

Having only been needed as an instructor on the first day of the Firebreak course in Beccles, I was eager to get along to the passing out parade on Friday afternoon to see how the week had gone.

I had been impressed on Monday by the effort and will to learn displayed by the students.

And what I witnessed in their final drills was fantastic. They did themseleves proud - drilling as a team, barking out the orders, heads held high and chests puffed out.

As their guests arrived the youngsters greeted them, showed them to their seats and waited nervously for the proceedings to start.

A few words of introduction from the acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer and then each student was introduced. They ran on to the drill yard followed by the instructors. The squad was then split into two crews with the first crew doing a ladder drill to rescue a baby from the first floor of the drill tower.

The drill went smoothly, everything was made up and the crew fell in to be greeted by a round of applause from the invited guests and instructors.

The second crew ran out two lines of 45 consisting of two lengths each, connected to the hydrant. They then got water on and choreographed their branchs resulting in a bright rainbow effect in the spray. Again, this crew were rewarded by sustained and deserved applause.

To round off the drill section of the passing out parade, both crews joined to carry out a combined drill.

The ladder crew had to rescue Mel Buck (christened Melanie for the purposes of the drill - he was wearing a fetching blue dress - and on a weekday instead of the normal weekend outing) from the tower while the remainder of the crew started setting up a dam. They then filled the dam from the hydrant, set the LPP (Light Portable Pump) into the dam and got two lines of 45 to work from the LPP.
With very little assistance from the instructors, everything ran according to plan.

It was an impressive drill especially getting an LPP to work. I don't think an LPP is anyones favourite bit of kit but the young lad tasked as pump operator made it look simple!

With everything made up and the applause still ringing in their ears, the students received their course portfolio from Joanna Spicer and the Dep. The 'Most Improved Student' was then presented with a certificate and shield.

The guests, students and instructors then made their way inside for refreshments and a chance to mingle and chat.

And so, on its first visit to Waveney, Firebreak was a resounding success. With any luck it won't be too long before the course is run in this neck of the woods again.

With any luck the course will have a lasting effect on the students and set them up well for the coming years as they make their way into adulthood...

BA drill - multiple persons reported in Youth Hostel fire

This week we had a BA drill with White Watch in the smoke house at Normanshurst.

This drill was ostensibly for two retained firefighters from Bungay who needed to catch up on some BA work.

The scenario was that the smoke house was a Youth Hostel and that there was a fire on the first floor with multiple persons reported.

The Bungay team were first in, taking the hosereel and searching off the right-hand wall. Not long after entering the building they located a casualty under the staircase and brought him out. They recommitted and worked they way round the groundfloor maze of metal cagework before going up to the first floor. Teams two and three followed, extending the search when team one were low on air.

I was in team four with Mark Saunders so we manned the BAECO board until White Watch returned froma shout and could do the honours. Mark went in a as number one and we made our way as quickly as possible to where team three were finishing their search. We received a quick brief from them as they made their way out with a casualty. We continued until we found the branch and soon after found a 'youngster' laying on a sofa. We did the customary 1 metre sweep around the area and then started to make our way out. I radioed BAECO to inform them of our find and that we were exiting the building.

And that was that. All casualties were found, which is good, and the whole evening passed quickly - also good!

Retained firefighter promises to blog more often...

Firstly, apologies to any regular readers I may have. Not for you being regular - that's good! No, it's me.

I've been quite slack recently in adding new posts to the blog. And this has been for a number of reasons.

My day job is getting busy, even with the Credit Crunch we are still getting work. January was actually our best month yet for attracting new advertisers on to the Good Access Guide.

I was working in Norwich today and the old grey cells were working overtime. The flickerings of a new business idea has now given me even more things to think about.

I've also been doing some extra things with the fire service too.

On Monday I stepped in as an instructor on the first FireBreak course to be held in Waveney. The course has been running all this week at Beccles Fire Station with a group of youngsters from the Beccles and Bungay area.

I was only needed for the one day and wondered how I would cope with this group. We're not privy as to why an individual has been put on the course - we just take them as they are.

It's a bit like a recruits course, with Day One consisting of lining up, coming to attention, at ease, running out lengths of 45, under-running, hose rolling, ladder drills, leg-locks, sill dismounts and then a combined drill to finish the day.

And I was seriously impressed with all the students. They put a great deal of effort into the whole day and achieved some fantastic results. Those instructors that are old-hands at this were genuine when saying that this was the best Day One they had ever seen.

It was nice to see the reaction when the youngsters received praise - heads came up and chests puffed out. Who knows, they may not get praised that often...

I'm hoping to get over to Beccles tomorrow to see the passing out parade. Each student can invite two guests to the event - and, hopefully, those guests will be justifiably proud of their son, daughter or charge.

Yesterday saw Rachael and me delivering two Learn and Live presentations at the North Suffolk Skills Centre in Halesworth - both to hairdressing courses. I did the first presentation, hoping I wouldn't get all hot and bothered delivering to an all female audience. Matters weren't made any easier when, in a stage whisper (loud enough for everyone to hear), one girl thought that her missing course-mate was not there because 'she probably had it last night'.
Thankfully I kept my composure and these two presentations were the best yet for audience participation - plenty of questions and discussions. This was probably helped by the fact that there was a mixed range of ages, not just all youngsters.

So, I've been busy for the last few weeks and it looks like it going to stay that way. But I'm going to try and get more posts on here. I think it's been too easy for me to update our shouts on alerter.co.uk, which meant I didn't feel too guilty about not posting to the blog!

I'll be back soon...