Month: February 2010

For once my timing was just right. I'd just finished my tea when my alerter started to throw a fit for the second time today.

Head for the front door with coat on, alerter in hand, mobile in pocket and shoes on at the door… Bugger no shoes at the front door! Where did I leave them? It would have been so much quicker just to get another pair but for some reason my brain only wanted me to find the elusive pair! Found them… Only wasted 10 seconds. Now out of the door.

Cheesey negotiated the early evening traffic and we were soon outside the property with the Roman Candle for a chimney. In seven years as a retained firefighter this is only my second chimney fire. It's not because we don't have chimney fires it's just that they are one pump shouts so it's normally the wholetime watch that picks these up. But Green Watch must have been otherwise engaged so we had the honours for this one.

A salvage sheet protected the lounge floor while we fed the chimey rods upwards and Jason did sterling work on the stirrup pump. Thankfully the fire was out pretty swiftly and we were able to get all our gear out without making any real mess in the property.

Hose all the gear down and then back to Normanshurst.

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It's Monday and I'd only made it to lunchtime before my little grey cells had started to fry… The day job is certainly using its fair share of brain cells and today called for a change of tactics.

The plan was to go home, go out for a run and then settle down at home making a fresh start on my work.

I'd just got into the car when my alerter effectively drowned out Phil Collins. Not sure what he was doing in my car but I couldn't hear a word other than 'I can feel it coming in the air…' Hmm…

I was second in at the fire station and did my best not to mow down the recruits busying themselves in the drill yard.

Two pump shout to 'Smoke from flat, Stanley Street, Lowestoft'. I joked that it would probably be the smoke house that's at the end of Stanley Street and often the source of a number of 'false alarm, good intents' for us.

I was driving and we headed into town before negotiating our way into Stanley Street, arriving shortly after Green Watch on Lowestoft 01. Not the smoke house but a terraced house with plenty of smoke issuing from the rear.

I had just run a length of 70 so that I could supply water to the other pump when I was told to reposition the pump in Wollaston Road so that we could attack the fire from the back of the property.

Once I'd reversed into position we got two hosereels off and a covering jet. Two BA teams entered via the back door and immediately faced the seat of the fire in the kitchen. This was quickly brought under control and then windows were opened to ventilate the house.

We cleared some of the debris from out of the kitchen then washed and made up our gear before heading back to Normanshurst.

I didn't get my run in. I told myself that running out two hosereels, a 45 and two lengths of 70 from the hydrant must be equal to a couple of circuits of the park… Who am I kidding?

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