Alerter blog

Month: September 2008

  • Inter-Emergency Services Karting Competition

    Two teams from Normanshurst were entered in yesterdays Inter-Emergency Services Karting Competition at Ellough, near Beccles.

    We had Swift to Swerve (Pete Brown, Mel Buck, Pete Gray and Gary Smart) and The Squirters (Ben Horne, Chris Randall, Al Soards, Chris Wallace and myself) representing the very best (*!?) in driving skills from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

    After getting kitted out in racing gear, helmets and scaffolders gloves we all headed off for the safety briefing. This was a large gathering as there were fourteen teams entered in the competition, so around 70 drivers!

     So, with qualifying over, Swift to Swerve were tenth and we were eleventh on the grid.

    Chris Wallace led our team off, followed by Al, me, Chris Randall and, finally, Ben.

    We fluctuated between our starting position and eigth place but our other team made steady progress through the field reaching third for a while.

    Halfway through the 3 hour race the refuelling 'window' opens for just ten minutes. All fourteen karts have to refuel in that period. Swift to Swerve with Pete Gray at the wheel, timed their refuelling stop to the second. Pete rounded the tyre wall into the pit lane just as the barrier was removed, signalling the start of refuelling. Our own Chris Wallace fuelled third followed by a driver change with Al.

    Each team had to change drivers 11 times during the race. We had worked this out as roughly 15 minutes per driver which equates to 15 laps (we'd each get at least two drives).

    It takes a few laps to get the feel of the kart and start to work out the best driving line around the circuit. Add to this slower traffic, spinouts and the odd bit of argy-bargy and you have 15 minutes of adrenalin-fuelled racing!

    A few of the teams took the whole thing a tad too seriously, especially the one that ditched its two slowest drivers in favour of giving the final 60 minutes of the race to its fastest driver! I wonder if the team gave these two laggards a refund on their entry fee… Hmm…

    With 3 hours over Swift to Swerve finished fourth and we climbed two places to ninth. Not bad for two teams that haven't put in any practice sessions at all!

    All in all a great afternoon - stiff arms, a sunburnt face, some good racing and plans to run a Fire Service Karting Grand Prix…

    I'll add some pics into a gallery just as soon as my PC feels a bit better.

  • New Fire Ground Order comes into effect…

    We had a shout this afternoon to a car leaking petrol. Nothing unusual in that you might think.

    But today was the first time at Normanshurst that we had encountered a new Fire Ground Order (FGO) that came into effect on the 1st September.

    The new FGO states that two pumps will be mobilised to any incident that is on or near a roadway when that road is a 'fast' road (speeds in excess of 40mph). But because Control will never be able to know the speed of any particular road, the FGO will cover every incident that is on or near a road.

    This may seem excessive but it is done for a good reason. The extra personnel can then ensure the safety of the firefighters working on the incident by directing or stopping traffic or even using the extra pump in the 'fend off' position.

    And this all came about because of increasing worries about firefighter safety especially after the tragic death of a Stevenage firefighter (Watch Manager Paul Mallaghan). Paul was attending a car fire on the A1 when he and a colleague were struck by a VW Golf.

    [Sentence deleted…]

  • Has Anybody Missed Me?

    Unlikely…

    I been off sick for a couple of days, which seems like ages and there hasn't been any shouts. So, no one will have noticed I'm not there. In fact it's such a long gap between shouts that you often can't remember the last time you saw old so-and-so…

    Hopefully I'll be back on the run early next week. I've done something to my intercostals - a muscle group that runs between your ribs. Hurts to breathe, move, lie down, anything. Put up with it for a couple of weeks but it got worse a couple of days ago so I paid a visit to our Aussie Nurse Practitioner. Hell of a journey but worth it!

    She prescribed some meaty pain killers and anti-inflammatory tablets too. The painkillers work a treat.

    Being of not quite sound mind and body I decided, inadvertently, to test the "can cause drowsiness, do not operate heavy machinery" warning. I got up this morning and, for some reason, took two of these painkillers on an empty stomach. Twenty minutes later and it was like the living dead. I could hardly keep my eyes open. I was literally falling asleep standing up! Things got so bad that I had to retreat to bed and have an hours kip. It wasn't till lunchtime that I felt normal (!?*) again.

    Shan't be making that mistake again…

    I think this is my first time off sick in around five years. My alerter had to be surgically removed from my hip. Feel naked without it. Sad git!

  • A Quick Turnaround

    Date: 30th August 2008
    Time: 2010
    Type: House
    Address: Whapload Road, Lowestoft
    Initial Attendance: Normanshurst 01 and 02

    I must be getting old… Saturday night and the only thing I'm looking forward to is a repeat of a repeat (etc.) of Dad's Army!

    But before that it's over to the station for a shout to reports of a house fire on Whapload Road. Ladder 1 mobilises as I dodge the traffic crossing Normanston Drive. I'm first in so take the drivers tally and we book mobile with Dennis Newton in charge and Greg Osborn and Howard Clark in the back.

    It's just controlled burning of rubbish but from a distance probably looked like a building was involved.

    We headed off with me commenting to Dennis that it looked like I'd get to see Dad's Army after all…

    As Dennis closed us down over the radio with Control we heard a Fire Priority message for Normanshurst 01. We could hear the turnout alarm as we made our way around the back of the station. As the appliance bay came into view we could see two lights up – Ladder 1 and the PRT.
    So straight into our bay, jump out, get my gear onto the PRT and we're off again. This time it's to an RTC on the A12 at Rackhams Corner.

    As we came out of Lowestoft and onto the dual carriageway we could see loads of blue lights ahead but quite a way beyond Rackhams Corner. Over the radio we were given the corrected location – on the southbound carriageway, south of the Hopton roundabout. We went past the incident and doubled back at the Jay Lane crossover. As we picked our way through the police cars, paramedic fast response vehicle and ambulance, you could see the trail of mud and debris that the car had left behind.

    Even though the road had been closed I still parked the PRT in the fend off position, to protect ourselves and others in case any vehicles did somehow get to use this section of the road. No cutting gear was required, just the tool box so that the battery could be disconnected. The stem light was used to give lighting to the scene – paramedics dealing with a casualty on the verge and the police handcuffing a young man.

    Some of us then set off with torches and the Thermal Image Camera as there were reports of a third individual involved. After a quick scout round we left any further searching to the boys in blue.

    And that was us done. Poodled off back to the station and home having well and truly missed Dad's Army… You stupid boy!

  • Evil Knievel and the Hose Ramps…

    Date: 30th August 2008
    Time: 1720
    Type: Garage
    Address: Winnipeg Road, Lowestoft
    Initial Attendance: Normanshurst 01
    Final Attendance: Normanshurst 01 and 02

    This was the second shout of the day for us. I'd missed the first one, only having been in the station a few minutes before to sign out for a couple of hours. This one is known as Sod's Law. Most Saturdays at noon I'll be at home but today I was taking the present Mrs. Carter out for a meal at the Village Maid in Lound.

    Just after five I heard the substitute Ladder 1 go out on a shout and I got that feeling in the water that we might be going too. Sure enough, within about ten minutes, the alerter kicked off. I was a bit slow out of the blocks so Cheesey beat me to the drivers slot.

    When we arrived at the junction of Winnipeg Road and St.Peters Street we were met by Phil Johnston valiantly trying to get a water supply for Ladder 1. He'd got the hydrant in and was about to run the first of around four lengths of 70 up Winnipeg Road to the pump. We helped with this and then got hose ramps out for traffic going along St.Peters Street.

    Most people slow right down when they see these minor obstructions in the road. But not long after we had placed the hose ramps we were treated to the sight of a taxi taking off as he hit the ramps too fast! [Sentence deleted…]

    For the next half hour or so we watched as traffic negotiated the hose ramps – some stalling as they reached the top of these mammoth little bumps, others missing them completely, while some just sat there looking at them and wondering what to do next!

    The fire had been in what looked like a derelict garage at the back of Winnipeg Road. The whole place was overgrown and full of junk. It took an extended hosereel and two lines of 45 to give the garage and the surrounding pile of rubbish a good drink.

    Meanwhile, out on the road, we were still watching the traffic. It's lucky there weren't any shunts as people keep moving forward but have to crane their heads owl-like to see what's happening. And even just standing about making sure no one drags the hose with them up the road finds us sweating like porkers. Not surprising when, in addition to our fire kit, we're wearing hi-vis jackets – a bit like wrapping yourself up in clingfilm!

    Back to the station just after six to clean some hose and then off home…