There was a somewhat delayed start to this exercise due to a little mishap on our way here.
Anyway, we got our BA sets sorted and were divided into pairs – I was paired up with Gary Smart.
Our task was to enter the disused canteen and kitchen area and count how many fire extinguishers were in there and remember their positions. We would then have to mark on plan where they were sited after we had completed the drill.
Obviously we couldn't fill the place with smoke so we all fitted the faithful 'knickers' to our masks to totally obscure our vision. Just to dispel any myths, we don't use actual knickers, clean or otherwise. Our 'knickers' are just an opaque, elasticated cover that keeps you from seeing anything useful and interesting. Thinking about it, that's exactly what real knickers do. At last, I've worked out where they get their name from!
Back to the drill…
I volunteered to go as No.1 and lead the way round the rooms. In all we found 5 extinguishers amongst the tables, ovens, serving counters, sinks, taps, mixers and all the other catering paraphernalia. Ian 'Billy' McMillan accompanied us as BAI (BA Instructor) and gave us good feedback generally but most notably for our communication between team members.
Once we had marked the floorplan with our 'X's' we changed cylinders and prepared for the second exercise.
This time I was teamed up with John Hubbard, with me as No.2. We entered the building on the ground floor, following the left-hand wall and carrying out search and rescue.
A few relatively minor learning points to take away from this one but overall it's good to get a couple of BA wears in.
And that was it. Just the drive back to Lowestoft, service our sets and away just after 2200hrs.