I had just managed to last the morning at work and was contemplating food and the afternoon when my plans were hurriedly altered by the strident calling of my alerter.
Traffic, for once, didn't hold me up getting to the new slim-line Normanshurst Fire Station and I was able to grab the drivers tally. The tip sheet showed we were off to a factory fire at Birds Eye in Lowestoft.
We pulled up outside Denes IV barely a minute after White Watch who had had to negotiate the lunchtime traffic in their dash from the new Lowestoft South Fire Station.
An Assistance Message had just been put in as two people were unaccounted for – so we'd now be getting a third pump crewed by the retained firefighters of Lowestoft South (the old Clifton Road crew). Thankfully the two people were found outside the building and the added urgency of searching for casualties removed.
BA teams were being committed in to the roof space to check the ducting - looking for fire, smoke, overheating ducts. Because of the distances the BA teams were having to travel they were sent in as teams of four taking hosereels extended to 120m.
Our pump from Normanshurst and Ladder 1 from Lowestoft South were the firefighting appliances so Mel and myself stood by the pumps, like coiled springs (!?*), ready to deliver water to the BA teams.
And that's about as exciting as it got for us. We were joined by pumps from Beccles and Bungay, the Command Support Vehicle from Beccles, the Operational Support Unit from Ipswich and the Hydraulic Platfrom from Yarmouth accompanied by three Norfolk pumps.
All that kit and firefighters may seem like overkill. But if the fire had developed it would have spread quickly and its no good deciding then that you need extra resources. Get everything rolling, you can always turn it back…
And the highlight of the whole job…
Being well fed and watered by the catering staff at Birds Eye. Thanks guys – firefighters are a happy bunch when they've had food and drink and your hospitality really hit the spot!