Do the emergency services over react sometimes?

[Arch]

[QUOTE 1244629"]
UnUnless Jonathon Ross heads up a Search and Wescue River Team
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Actually, it could be fun to send the Saffron Walden Round Table to do a rescue. They could have a raffle or something.

 

[asterix]

Lost My Canoe, says...
11:14am Sun 14 Nov 10 Can I just set the record straight, as one of the three canoeists! We were out on the river to look for my brother's kayak which blew away on Friday morning. We are experienced canoeists, my husband having paddled several white waters both at home and abraod. We know that stretch of water very well being out on it nearly every week. We had no intentions of going down the weir. We had been paddling on the river for an hour with no problems with the conditions. We went alongside the barrage which is there to stop boats going down the weir which we had done several times before. All of a sudden we were sucked under the barrage with our canoe. My husband and I were washed down the weir while my brother was left holding onto the barrage. My husband and I were able to get ourselves onto a tree while my brother waitedon the barrage. He was able to contact 999 on his waterproof phone. The emergency services were fantastic, as were all the staff at the hospital. Even the most experienced canoeists have mishaps and we have learnt from our experience. We are all fine, just cut and bruised.

Having done a fair bit of canoeing as well as a lot of sailing, I wouldn't get near those barrages! (Thinking back, I've rescued one or two people myself, but it didn't really occur to me to tick them off)

As for the emergency response, I saw them setting off near Clifford's Tower (with a RIB) and we also saw a helicopter in the direction of Naburn. At the time I thought if someone has fallen in they need to get there quick.

 

[Globalti]

Be grateful that our gallant fire brigades are always so quick. In Nigeria a friend's air conditioner burst into flames, the local fire engine took an hour to get the few kilometres to his house, probably because the appliance had no fuel, no battery or no water. Luckily the bedroom had a plaster ceiling so the fire didn't get into the roof and by the time the firemen came the fire had more or less burned itself out. It has absolutely traumatised the children though.

 

[Black Sheep]

'Swimming' rescues should only be attempted by those with the correct training. Which is where the SWRT come into it. I have experienced incidents where FFs have entered the water, (non SWRT trained), with a successful outcome. There have been instances around the country where personnel have faced disciplinary action for doing so!

Most Fire Engines will only carry limited equipment for water rescues, i.e Floating lines, throwing lines and hopefully life jackets ,maybe inflatable hose.


This tragic incident and the sebsequent improvement notice had a big effect on water rescues by FRS:


http://www.fbu.org.u...1204/1204hs.pdf

Having a (now lapsed) life saving qualification, the ideal is not to get into the water if you can help it. sometimes this requires more man power than you could get away with. Its thought better to have a couple of extra people and make sure the rescuer does not require rescuing during the course of the rescue attempt.

Ok, didn't really know that. But I'm fairly sure the driver was in some way emphasising his presence, since the drivers who followed me out really didn't seem to be aware of the siren he was using as he came along the road - I often notice that I'm very quickly aware of a siren, and more importantly, where it's coming from, when I'm on the bike, whereas drivers are coccoooned in their nice insulated boxes and only aware at the last minute.

Surgurl, good point about getting useful training, I hadn't really thought of that. Although if people are daft enough to ignore warnings about mudflats, they probably ought to just be left there....

My wife is a Pediatric nurse and occasionally has to go on patient transfers in the ambulance between hospitals, sometimes blue lighted.

She told me a week or so ago of one crew who were getting pretty irritated traveling to Birmingham Childrens' Hospital and at one point the driver was repeatedly honking the horn as cars just were not moving aside on a dual cariageway of flowing traffic when he had his sirens on!

sometimes, ambulance drivers honk the horn a couple of times on approach to a junction to make sure people have heard them.

 

[Archie_tect]

If you had ever seen the aftermath of an RTC where a car has run into the back of a lorry on the hard shoulder, you may have a different opinion.

Only the once... an elderly uncle was driving.

OK, they could have managed with one police car behind the lorry [on the hard shoulder to the slip road] with its blues on 'disco mode'.... and a few cones.

I agree addictfreak, it can be an awful job at times especially dealing with multiple accidents and fire in fog on the motorway... where cars + artics are still piling in at 70mph.

 

[Arch]

She told me a week or so ago of one crew who were getting pretty irritated traveling to Birmingham Childrens' Hospital and at one point the driver was repeatedly honking the horn as cars just were not moving aside on a dual cariageway of flowing traffic when he had his sirens on!

Sadly I'm not surprised by this. Too many people in a soundproof world of their own, if not actually maliciously selfish. Probably never look in their mirrors either. Emergency vehicles ought to be fitted with battering rams....

I was riding over Lendal Bridge last year, and heard a siren coming from some way off, and knew it was oncoming, and that the tailback of traffic would mean it was likely to be oncoming on my side of the road, so I pulled into the kerb, and lo and behold the dozy woman behind me just drove past and ended up almost nose to nose with it (a paramedic fast responce car), which then squeezed past down the middle of the road.

As the next lights were at red, and she had her passenger window open, I filtered alongside and inquired why she'd overtaken when I was stopping for the ambulance? Her reply was "I didn't see any ambulance". So I regret I suggested she get her eyes tested, and she told me to "F*** off". Perhaps should have mentioned a hearing test and a driving test while I was at it...

 

[CanucksTraveller]

^^ I had mentioned this on page one, but no-one appears to have believed me. Despite me crewing an FRU for London Ambulance Service for a living.

Seems to have escaped some people that a siren is 50 decibels louder than a horn, so there's really little point in "emphasising" one's siren with one's very quiet horn.

Honestly kids, if you hear a horn, it's because we're cycling through the siren modes to get your attention. We're not relying on the horn.

 

[Black Sheep]

Sadly I'm not surprised by this. Too many people in a soundproof world of their own, if not actually maliciously selfish. Probably never look in their mirrors either. Emergency vehicles ought to be fitted with battering rams....

I do also know someone who trained to be a paramedic (he's now signed up and in afganistan) who says it is normal practice to tap the brakes to scare people who are tailgating the ambulance to push though the traffic and that, on placement he got nudged from behind twice, once completely the following car's fault, and once because of braking to try and get rid of the following car.

If they do get bumped, it's common practice to tell the driver the ambulance number and ambulance service and disappear to the emergency they were headed for

Seems to have escaped some people that a siren is 50 decibels louder than a horn, so there's really little point in "emphasising" one's siren with one's very quiet horn.

Honestly kids, if you hear a horn, it's because we're cycling through the siren modes to get your attention. We're not relying on the horn.

the way that some of the drivers round here lay on the horn does make it sound like they're just using everything they can!

cycling through multiple siren modes makes sense tho.

 

[benb]

RE: "overreacting"

It's clearly better to have something there and not need it, than the other way round! Same with inner tubes.

 

[swee'pea99]

How many police marksmen does it take to shoot a ranting barrister?

59.




A joke? I wish...

 

[CanucksTraveller]

[quote name='swee'pea99' timestamp='1289918142' post='1470081']
How many police marksmen does it take to shoot a ranting barrister carrying a shotgun?
[/quote]

Sorry, I thought I'd just add the most pertinent point for you there. You missed it out somehow.

The answer by the way, as we know, was 3. But God forbid we exaggerate.

 

[Ticktockmy]

I have been told that when fire appliances are dispatched from one station, appliances are then moved up from other stations to provide limited cover whilst that’s stations appliances are at the incidence.
I guess that why we see so many fire appliances flying this away and that away. I know if there is a incidence at Gatwick, you see appliances from Horsham come into the Crawley town fire station

 

[addictfreak]

I have been told that when fire appliances are dispatched from one station, appliances are then moved up from other stations to provide limited cover whilst that’s stations appliances are at the incidence.
I guess that why we see so many fire appliances flying this away and that away. I know if there is a incidence at Gatwick, you see appliances from Horsham come into the Crawley town fire station

You are right, they are called closing in moves, which are made by the control room to maintain fire cover in all areas.
Not sure what happens down your way, but up here the 'stand by' appliances travel at normal road speed without blues and twos.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

appliances are then moved up from other stations to provide limited cover whilst that’s stations appliances are at the incidence.

That is true, but they don't go on blues and twos. Any appliances that you see on priority signals are responding to a live incident.

Transfers to standby points or to other stations are done in normal time.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

A couple of years ago two retired gentlemen set off to sail their little yacht back to Harwich from Holland. Both were very experienced sailors and one was and ex RN officer and Chairman of his local RNLI branch. As it was very benign weather with light winds, they gave a very elastic schedule to their wives at home in case it proved to be slow going, but said they would be at least two and a half days.

And slow going it was. So after about three days one of the wives called what she thought was their local Coastguard to ask if "they could see them yet". But of course, unbeknown to her, it's not your local Coastguard lookout anymore as they've all been closed, but a Maritime Rescue Centre a few hundred miles away that answered. They said if the boat was 'late' it was their statutory duty to start a rescue and immediately despatched a plane, helicopter, two lifeboats plus several fishing boats to look for them. They were quickly 'found' a couple of miles short of their destination happily sailing along and replied to queries about their well being with a 'fine thank you' and a prediction that they would be in harbour shortly.

Imagine their surprise when they were told that the lifeboat would have to 'rescue them' and tow them to port as the Coastguard had enacted a clause in the Merchant Shipping Act and ordered a tow. They were furious but realised it wasn't the lifeboatmen's decision, so accepted under protest. On reaching shore they discovered the relevant clause had been put into the Act to allow the Secretary of State to order an oil supertanker with engine trouble to accept a tow against its owner's wish, if in the opinion of the Secretary of State there was real danger of a massive oil spill by the delay. It this circumstances it was wrongly used by those with no authority. Just goes to show what happens when badly drawn laws get on the Statute Books; Anti Terrorism Legislation anyone?