Up with the lark

Incident No.
Date: 10th June 2007
Time: 0422
Type: Fire
Address: Stanford Street, Lowestoft
Initial Attendance: One Pump
Final Attendance:

Sod’s Law states that the one night of the week when I haven’t got all my clothes and shoes carefully arranged, we get a shout in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Normally, when the alerter goes off (I swear it could raise the dead!) I can be out of bed, in the hall, into my jeans, T-shirt on, shoes on, socks in hand and out of the door in about a minute – almost without waking up.

But last night was different. We’d been out to a 40th birthday party and so were later to bed than normal. I didn’t bother positioning my clothes as usual, instead relying on the hope that tonight would be shout-free. I should have known better. By the time I had rummaged for clothes, found my shoes and got out of the door it felt like an eternity had passed.

The wholetimers were out in the south of town accompanied by the Clifton Road pump (this is a one pump retained station in Kirkley, Lowestoft). The were three separate incidents within a few hundred yards of each other – someone stuffing lighted material or paper through letterboxes. What a nice wakeup call for those residents!

We were initially mobilised to that area but were redirected to a fire at the rear of a property in Stanford Street. I was driving and we got to the area pretty quickly but could see no sign of fire. The crew split up to search the area. A small fire was discovered in a back alley and was quickly extinguished with a few blasts from the hosereel. We had the police attend because of the suspicious nature of the incident – it’s not often that rubbish self ignites at any time let alone at twenty past four on a misty Sunday morning!

Back on station to the normal banter that surrounds life on a fire station. Even at that time of the morning wisecracks abound and no one is safe from some sort of jibe or indeed the fire service early morning chorus… that odour-laden symphony that is firefighters breaking wind!! Ah what a fine, dishevelled bunch we are…