Blog archive summer 2008

29th September - 3rd October - Back on shift after 18 days annual leave me and the Watch carry out a quiz with a Primary School, visit HMP Manchester and go to an incident where a man is seen struggling in a canal…
My first day back is always the busiest. We have to catch up on any updates that have happened whilst we have been off duty including equipment, road closures or anything that may pose a risk to firefighters at an incident. We also plan and book home fire risk assessments.

Training for the day was basic ladder and hose drills. This builds teamwork.
We attended several calls to automatic fire alarms, all of which were false alarms.
 
30th September
On my second day shift I got my first chance to drive the hydraulic platform (HP) operationally. However, there were no fires today that needed our assistance. I took the opportunity to visit St. Malachy's RC Primary School. As part of our efforts to work with the local community the Fire Service run a quiz once a year for local schools called Learn Not To Burn.  This involves teaching year five children four one hour lessons on the Fire Service. We cover areas such as equipment we use, our fire stations, how we turnout to incidents, the dangers of hoax calls, how to call the Fire Service, smoke alarms and emergency escape plans for the home.

The children then take part in a quiz against the other local schools, in a bid to be named Learn Not To Burn champions. I am responsible on my Watch for organising, planning and delivering the lessons. Today's visit was just about liaising with the teacher Mr Sale to plan convenient times for the lessons.
 
After break, both appliances went to a house under renovation to carry out a breathing apparatus exercise for our newest recruit, Dan. The idea of using a real house is to give a realistic impression of the layout of a house and search procedures during a fire.
 
In the afternoon we attended an organised visit to Her Majesty's Prison Manchester. As the prison houses so many people in close proximity fire is considered to be a major threat. As a result we carry out these visits regularly to get an idea of security measures for fire engines going to an incident, locations of fire hydrants in the Prison and firefighting measures in the event of an inmate preventing us from entering a cell. We also look at the general prison layout and the Prison Officers' roles and responsibilities in an emergency. The visit is very worthwhile and interesting.
 
2nd - 3rd October
The first night I was off duty having taken some floating leave. The second night I was driving the second fire appliance. The evening started with Dan giving us a lecture on the Emergency Air Supply Equipment. This is equipment taken in by Emergency Breathing Apparatus wearers, if they are required to enter a building in the event of a firefighter starting to experience difficulty with his own Breathing Apparatus set.

This was followed by each fire appliance carrying out Home Fire Risk Assessments. Turnouts started with the usual false alarms. At 2am we had a call to reports of a man in the canal near Ducie Street. Two fire engines from my station were sent along with the Water Incident Unit from Eccles Fire Station. On arrival we were met by a witness who had seen a man attempting to get out of the canal but he then went under water and failed to surface.

Crews with lifejackets and lines were deployed along the tow path looking for signs of the gentleman whilst the water crews went into the water in dry suits and used a hansa board to search the length of the canal. Unfortunately despite our best efforts and extensive searching we were unable to locate the man. The water was cold and a freezing wind was blowing as time went on and we started to expect the worst and the Police underwater diving team were called. The man was found by them in the early hours of the morning, sadly he had died. Investigations are currently underway by the Police to ascertain why the man was in the canal.

From 10th - 28th September Kieran was on annual leave.

Early September 2008 - Hydraulic Platform (HP) training course
Before going onto my annual leave, I attended a training course, which enables me to drive the HP.  Although I am already qualified to operate the HP, a more indepth refresher is required on the operation covering limitations of use and components parts. This is because ultimately the safety of the vehicle and crew comes down to the driver. I was tested on this on Thursday and I passed. This enabled me to take a driving test the following Friday. I started with some basic driving to get used to the extra length of the vehicle and to get awareness of the booms that overhang the front of the HP and the cage that overhangs at the back. Lack of concentration could see the front swinging into a lamppost or other such obstacle. This is followed by three 'blue light runs'. This is to check that I am safe and in control. I also passed this and now am able to drive the HP operationally.

Tour 21st - 25th July - Large fire in Gorton, blaze in a Bolton Mill and training exercise...
 
21st July - Large fire in Gorton
Today I was driving the second fire engine. We spent the day in Blackley's area to cover for them whilst they were undertaking one day road traffic collision training. So we used the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the area and carry out home fire risk assessments. The day was very quiet until 5pm when we were mobilised to a fire on Gorton lane in Gorton. It was a clear day and the smoke plume from the fire could be seen from as far away as Mossley.

Large fire in Gorton

It was a large warehouse that was on fire, the building contained various cylinders that began to explode as they heated up and on one occasion part of the cylinder landed on a house roof a few streets away. There were 10 fire engines at the scene. My crew were tasked as the base pump, this is where we plug into a strategic hydrant or other water source and provide large amounts of water to the fireground for the other crews to use, for their various firefighting equipment. The fire took some time to bring under control and was still burning several days later.
 
22nd/23rd July - Training exercise, Fire in Bolton Mill and bin fire
A quiet day for incidents after the previous days events, however in the afternoon our crew took part in a combined training exercise. This involves crews from surrounding stations training together which helps us form good working relationships. We trained with Blackley, Philips Park and Gorton. The exercise is run like a real incident. We simulated a collision between a car and lorry. There were two twists - the car had a trapped casualty and the lorry had spilled an unknown chemical. This would present a severe problem. Do we leave the casualty until we have found out what the chemical is? Or do we attempt to assess the casualty and risk endangering lives of the firefighters with the chemicals?
 
On our night shift tonight there was a large fire in a converted mill in Bolton. Our Hydraulic Platform fire engine was sent to the incident at 3am, and as with the Gorton Lane incident Martin was driving again. I was driving the first fire engine and at 5am we got a phone call requesting us to go and relieve one of the crews who had been at the incident since the initial call.  Our role was to continue fighting the ongoing fire and 'damp down' areas that were still smouldering to make it safe for demolition companies to start their work.
 
The Bolton fire was still smouldering so at 2am the 2nd fire engine and the Hydraulic Platform had to go on relief duties, leaving the first fire engine with me driving back onto the fire station to attend any incidents that may occur.

Our first call came at 4am to a flat fire in Philips Park. The fire was in the bedroom and two breathing apparatus teams entered to put the fire out. It was only a small fire but could have easily developed into a far worse fire.
 
Our next call came at 5:30am and this was an unknown fire in Collyhurst. On arrival we found a bin on fire that had spread to the fencing and guttering of a house. As I have said previously in this blog, it is a must that you move your wheelie bin as far away from your property as possible so they can't catch fire to your house.   

Tour 29th June - 2nd July - Dan takes part in equipment training and helps extinguish a blaze involving four cars in a garage...
Dan's first full tour with us on Green Watch. We haven't had many turnouts to incidents so we have concentrated on training. We started with ladder drills for Dan to ease him in and give him some confidence, we then did short drills using most of the equipment on the fire engine, e.g. cutting equipment, positive pressure fan, and light portable pumps. This is not only good for Dan to practice but also helps the rest of the watch keep up their skills. Dan also has the chance to teach us any new updates on equipment.
 
Tuesday night was very busy up until around midnight but all calls were for automatic fire alarms. These detection systems are often installed in hospitals, business premises, student accommodation etc and when they react as a result of either an increase in heat or the presence of smoke the fire service automatically responds to the call (but not always on blue lights - so always make a backup 999 call if it's a real emergency).
 
Wednesday night was very quiet until 11.30pm then we had a turnout to a report of a car and shed on fire in Collyhurst. When we arrived it was found that there were two cars on fire outside an industrial garage and lots of black smoke was issuing from inside the garage. I was driving the fire engine so I was responsible for water, equipment and communications. Dan got his first chance to wear breathing apparatus and fight a fire and started firstly on the cars outside whilst another two breathing apparatus team members entered the garage to investigate. This team located a further three cars on fire in the garage, and Dan was committed into the garage along with the other two to experience heavily smoke logged conditions and to tackle the car fires.

Whilst these firefighting operations were taking place our Watch Officer Warren noticed a building behind us and was issuing black smoke from the roof. I contacted Control and asked for further fire engines to attend as we could not leave our current situation. This was an unrelated fire to our job and turned out to be large quantities of rubbish in a reclamation factory.
 
All incidents were bought to a successful conclusion with Dan smiling from ear to ear.

On Sunday I was in charge of the Hydraulic platform, and it was standard test day. This is where we carry out various functions to ensure the Hydraulic Platform is safe and has no faults.

On Monday we welcomed our new probationer Dan to the watch. He's 23 and from St. Helens. The evening was taken up by giving him a guided tour of the station, along with the jobs he will be expected to carry out as part of the Watch and familiarising himself with the equipment on the fire engine. He didn't have to wait long for his first turn out, which was a fire alarm activation. This was shortly followed by his first turnout on blue lights.

Tour June 13th - 16th - A man sets his roof guttering on fire with a cigarette, a kitchen catches fire after cooking is left unattended and we carry out a training exercise at Piccadilly Railway Station…
Friday 13th started with rope access training. This involved simulating a situation where we had to recover a casualty who had fallen down an embankment.

At around lunch time we received a persons reported shout to a hotel on River Street in City Centre (this is a callout to an incident where it is possibility that people are trapped in a fire). Three fire engines attend this type of incident.

On arrival we were faced with smoke issuing from a third floor bedroom in the hotel. After ensuring we had adequate water supplies, three breathing apparatus teams went inside to locate the fire and search for anyone that might be missing. Thankfully the fire was confined to the bedding in the bedroom and most of the damage was caused by smoke. There were no casualties.

In the afternoon we went to Piccadilly Railway Station on a familiarisation visit. We use these visits to gain an idea of likely problems arising in the station. We also look at where our best access points are and where any firefighting equipment might be. Also we looked at the problems and solutions associated with people falling under and becoming trapped by a train.

As I've said previously this job can be an all or nothing affair and on 14th it was definitely all! We started the morning with a shout (callout) to a house in Moss Side. There were reports of a kitchen fire. On arrival Moss Side Fire Crews had already dealt with the situation which turned out to be some food left on a cooker, whilst the occupant had popped out. This is not a good idea, even if you only plan to be a minute! Make sure you take the food off the cooker as anything unexpected can happen such as being locked out or you get delayed when talking.

This was followed by us going to a fire alarm in the city centre. As with many fire alarm activations, they turn out to be false alarms. Shortly after our break we then turned out another fire alarm at the Town Hall and on our way back we were flagged down by a distraught lady who had managed to drop her bag over a 15 metre wall. Ordinarily the fire service do not turn out to incidents of this nature, but as we were in the vicinity we tried to help. Unfortunately despite our best efforts we were unable to retrieve the bag.

After lunch we received a two pump (fire engine) shout (call out) to Cheetham Hill with reports of smoke coming from a roof ledge. A ladder was pitched to the roof to investigate whilst breathing apparatus teams entered the building to check whether the fire was inside. On close inspection it was revealed that the fire was confined to the gutter. This was caused by the occupant of the bedroom above emptying his ashtray onto the roof.

One of his smoking materials (cigarette, cigar etc) had not been extinguished properly and set fire to dried leaves and grass in the gutter. Over half of fires Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service attend are due to carelessly discarded smoking materials. If you smoke, ensure that you correctly put out your cigarette and leave it in a fireproof ashtray overnight before disposing of it. This incident could have been far worse. Whilst at the premises we put up two smoke alarms free of charge and carried out a risk assessment.

After two fairly busy day shifts, the nights were very quiet. The only incident of note was a road sweeping lorry that had caught fire on Oldham Street, the cause was due to an electrical engine fault and Dave using breathing apparatus and a hose reel put the fire out.

Next tour we welcome Dan to our watch who is fresh from training school. I'll let you know how he goes on over the coming months.

Tour June 5th - 8th - We carry out breathing apparatus training in the basement of the Palace Hotel and put out a fire at a shoe shop in Manchester City Centre…
The first day of the tour saw us carrying out a training exercise with breathing apparatus in the basement of the Palace Hotel. The scenario was that there had been a fire, the basement was heavily smoke logged (we use obscuration masks to simulate this) and a worker (or in the case of the exercise a dummy) was missing. Two breathing apparatus teams consisting of Rob H and Dave and Rob C and Phil entered the basement to begin their search. Martin and myself were the Emergency Team. The role of the Emergency Team is to be on standby should a firefighter get into any difficulty. We will take an extra breathing apparatus set in with us to aid the firefighter.  

Half way through the exercise a personal alarm starting sounding, this is used to alert others in the vicinity that a firefighter is in trouble. It can be activated by the firefighter or automatically if he/she does not move for 40 seconds. Martin and myself 'went under air' and after receiving our brief began to search for the casualties. We located them successfully and the simulation was that there had been an air leak on one of the firefighters' masks. After giving him the new mask, we all made our way out to safety carrying the dummy with us.

It seems that training is coming in usefully at the moment. After recent water training, we then had to rescue a man from a canal. Then two tours ago we had Acetylene training only to find ourselves on relief duties on this shift at an incident where an acetylene cylinder had been involved in fire in Reddish. Acetylene has to be cooled for 24 hours and then left for one hour because it is so volatile. On our second night shift we took a four hour turn at applying a cooling jet onto the cylinder.

Early in the morning we turned out (attended) to a bin fire behind Dolcis on New Market Lane in the City Centre. On arrival we found the fire had spread to a bin compound built into the back of the shop which had then caught the ground floor of the shop. Being originally a bin fire only one fire engine went to the incident so on arrival Andy sent an assistance message for an extra fire engine. This is because we would need breathing apparatus teams to thoroughly check the property. Thankfully we managed to contain the fire to the bin area, and doors of the shop. We used two breathing apparatus and two hose reels and a nine metre ladder to gain entry to the upper floors.

Tour May 28th - 31st - Home fire risk assessments, a skip fire and investigate a mysterious burning smell in a shop…
A fairly quiet tour of duty. We carried out the usual home fire risk assessments and turned out to several fire alarms. On the first day on we received a call to Paperchase on St Mary's Gate. There was a smell of burning in the shop. I was the driver today and as there was the possibility of a fire we went on blue lights (we do not always go on blue lights to fire alarms). On arrival, we could smell what seemed like electrical burning but there were no obvious signs. After some investigation and use of the thermal image camera, we found the cause was an overheated light socket. The only other incident was in the early hours of 31st May. This was a large skip fire in Collyhurst and we used a hose reel to extinguish the fire.

Tour 20th - 23rd May - We welcome a new Crew Manager, carry out some ladder training and attend an incident which turns out to be a hoax call…
Today we welcomed Mick, a new Crew Commander, to Green Watch. At Manchester Central Fire Station we have two crews per Watch (roughly five people per crew) so Mick will be in charge of one of the crews on Green Watch.

Mick is a firefighter at Gorton and has been promoted for a temporary period to cover Martin who moved to training school.

Day shifts this tour of duty were quiet in terms of incidents but we made the most of the nice weather to get out into the city and train on ladders. It's very easy on the station yard to become complacent with ladders as the floor surface is level and obstructions are at a minimum. It's good to use ladders in a real environment.
 
We also visited St. Malachy's Infants in Collyhurst to have a talk to them about the dangers of playing with matches and give them the chance to look around the fire engine.
 
On my last night shift I was detached to Stockport Fire Station. We had one call out to an incident in the early hours to what we thought was a flat fire above a shop. When we arrived there was no fire and quite clearly a hoax call had been made.
 
A fire engine can't be in two places at once and while attending a hoax call we can't attend a real fire. Hoax calls to the emergency services are against the law and carry a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a fine of £5,000.  In Greater Manchester we record and trace all calls so they can be used as evidence.

Remember, do not make hoax calls to the emergency services. Think about if you or your family needed help and we were attending a hoax call somewhere else.

Tour 12th - 15th May - A man falls down an inspection pit at a bus depot, a Glasgow Rangers fan is rescued from a canal lock and we go to a car fire…
Back from 18 days leave I had an eventful first tour of duty. Day shifts started with the usual home fire safety checks and road traffic collision training. For road traffic collision training we practice using different equipment to help free people trapped in cars. We often use old cars to practice on.

We also attended an incident involving a pan of food left on a cooker in Moston. Thankfully there was no fire but the house was heavily smoke logged. The occupants did have a working smoke alarm and so were able to leave the house with their little baby safely.

Later we had an incident at Arriva Bus depot in Ancoats. A man has fallen down a maintenance inspection pit. He had head injuries and suspected spine injuries. Along with the ambulance crews we gave him first aid before putting him on a spine board and lifting him to safety.
 
Our first night shift saw half of Glasgow come to Manchester City Centre for the UEFA Cup Final. The area was full of the blue shirts of Rangers fans getting ready for the football atmosphere. We had an early callout to a man locked in a building in the heart of one of the fan zones.  Progress for safety's sake was slow, but all fans were helpful and in high spirits.
 
Although this proved a very busy night for Police and Ambulance we only had two further callouts. Our water rescue training prior to our leave paid off as we turned out (went to the incident) just after 10pm to a man who had fallen 10ft into a canal lock basin. Two of his friends had also gone in to rescue him. When we arrived, although cold, the men were uninjured but unable to climb out of the steep sides. We used life jackets and rope access equipment to rescue the three men. Again the crowd were very good, giving us plenty of room to work, and giving a nice round of applause once the men were safely back on dry land.

Just after midnight we went to a car fire at Dale Street. We used a hose reel to put the fire out which was confined to the front passenger compartment.