Fire and rescue services up and down the country have been involved in and affected by this week’s severe weather.
On Monday, fire engines became stuck in snow as they approached a fire involving three houses in Coulsdon, Surrey, after they had to divert from a road which was closed due to water mains works. They managed to get through after residents helped to dig them out. A total of six fire engines attended the fire in which no one was injured. Meanwhile, firefighters have been involved in the inevitable increase in crashes and road incidents, using cutting equipment in the more serious incidents. But by yesterday, it seems that drivers were becoming more careful in the dangerous road conditions – at least as far as some areas in Buckinghamshire were concerned. Watch manager Steve Cooke told the Bucks Herald that shunts were occurring, but people were not getting trapped because they were driving at lower speeds. A more unusual rescue occurred after two teenagers became stuck in a phone box in Rochdale after their mates had piled up as estimated one ton of snow against it. Crew manager Nick Griffin told the Manchester Evening News that the teenagers had called 999 from inside the phone box. “I’ve never seen anything like it. To be fair they stayed calm while we got shovels and cleared it. It only took about five minutes.” With echoes of the tragic case of the 16 year old girl who died in a sledging accident in Sheffield, firefighters in South Yorkshire helped ambulance crews after a man on a sledge ran out of control, hit a rock and broke his leg. New Maldon fire station in Surrey was out of action on Monday afternoon because crew members were unable to get into work. According to the Surrey Comet, firefighters on the overnight shift stayed on through Monday morning, but were forced to stand down at 1pm so they could legally return to work that evening. In Hertfordshire, the fire and rescue service was able to report on Tuesday that in spite of the severe weather, operations had not been hampered and that crews had been able to help out other emergency services and organisations. Four wheel drive vehicles were used to transport carers for the elderly and vulnerable in hard to reach locations. “The snow has been causing problems across Hertfordshire but we are fully prepared and have been able to continue business as usual,” said chief fire officer Roy Wilsher. “I’m pleased that as well as continuing our own operations, we’ve been able to help our partners with the use of some of our specialist equipment and ensure that other essential services are still provided.”
