'Local place for local people!'

 

One of the big differences with being an ‘on call’ firefighter rather than a ‘wholetime’ firefighter is that mostly you are a firefighter in your own town. The town you live, or work, or both, so you know a lot of people, some more than others.

I didn’t grow up in Totnes, I used to live in Surrey until 15 years ago, so all the people I know are through my work in the town, training people in fitness at the leisure centre and at my gym. Some of the crew are Totnes born and bred and know literally everyone!

With this in mind there will be shouts where you know the people involved whether directly or indirectly, and some circumstances a lot worse than others. It’s always something that could happen. The particular shout I want to talk about is a road traffic collision (RTC) on a dark, wet November night last year.

The weather was pretty much as it has been of late, relentless rain and cold. The roads were water-logged and the puddles were lake-like even on the main roads.

I’d just gone to bed and was reading when the beeper went off, the usual race to the station on my push-bike in the most horrific of weather. I think a lot of us try and guess what we are going to, and usually in weather like that you automatically think, RTC. And I was right on this occasion.

It was only my second RTC and Harvey was also on this shout, I think it was his first or second.

Arriving at the scene there was one car, facing the wrong way on one side of the road, not far from a huge puddle.

Me and Harvey stabilised the car, the driver was conscious and seemingly unhurt at this point, but I was told to get into the car to keep her head still just in case of any injuries, before the paramedics arrived.

I introduced myself as I got in and held the young woman’s head still, she said, ‘I know who you are, you used to teach me kickboxing!’ I then realised that this young woman was once a much younger girl who attended my classes when I took them at the local sports centre. She used to come along with her Dad. I kept her head still, but we chatted until the paramedic took over, I think the fact that she knew me made it a little less scary a situation for her. I saw her a few weeks later, she had a new car and was just about to start driving again.

Now, here’s the thing, anyone thinking about joining a fire and rescue service in an ‘on call’ capacity, that could have been very different. That could be your best friend, your Mum, your sister, and the outcome may not have been as rosy as the one Olivia had. It’s something you would certainly need to consider…..imagine rescuing your local dentist or GP in the middle of the night from their house in just their underpants?! Could be quite a sight!