Daily Record 25th May 2010 - James Moncur

Life-or-death drama is just part of the job for the water specialists of Tayside Fire and Rescue, as the Record's James Moncur found out when he joined the team.

Imagine treating a footballer with a broken leg. An ambulance can get straight to him, park on the pitch and whisk him off to hospital...

Then think how you would cope if your casualty was at the bottom of a 100ft gully, next to a raging river and miles from the road.

He has multiple fractures and he's freezing to death. What do you do?

The water specialists of Tayside Fire and Rescue have to make these splitsecond, life-or-death decisions for real.

And when I teamed up with them, I witnessed the exceptional courage they show in situations ordinary people can barely imagine.

I was kitted out in a drysuit, boots, helmet and life preserver before plunging into eight-degree water at The Hermitage, near Dunkeld in Perthshire.

After a "warm-up" swim, I helped rescue a walker who had plunged 40-feet on a tiny rocky outcrop in a freezing waterfall.

The man had broken both legs and the team had to work out how to get him to safety.

We were chest-deep in freezing water as we manhandled him on to an inflatable raft. The scale of the task, and the dangers involved, were awe-inspiring.

This time, it was only an exercise. The "walker" was a member of the team and his injuries were make-believe.

But all too often, the lads face these challenges when a real life is at stake.

Just last month, they endured one of their toughest and most tragic rescue efforts - in front of a crowd of hundreds of people including the family of the 18-year-old victim.

International kayak star Simon Fletcher was paddling with his identical twin brother when he capsized and became trapped underwater at Grandtully rapids on the swollen River Tay, near Aberfeldy.

Simon's canoe was wedged behind a rock known as "the boat breaker". Freeing it was the biggest challenge the Fire and Rescue team had ever taken on.

Working alongside Tayside Mountain Rescue, local canoe and rafting guides and a Navy helicopter, the men faced a frightening mix of problems and challenges. The operation went on, in front of an audience and in the glare of publicity, for a day and a half.

Watch manager Fred Cochrane, who led the initial attempts to free Simon, is a keen kayaker himself.

He told me: "It was the most difficult, testing and traumatic job any of the lads have been involved in.

"The kayak was wedged behind a really unusually-shaped rock in the middle of the river.

"The water was running very high. And there were hundreds of people, including Simon's friends and family, watching our every move.

"It would be impossible to replicate the situation - it had just about every challenge and nightmare in the book."

The raging rapids and volume of water had flattened Simon's kayak to the thickness of cardboard and moulded it around the rock.

The rescuers eventually reached it in a raft, but struggled to stay in position because of the force of the water.

A Royal Navy winchman's heroic efforts to use himself as a human wrecking ball and kick the kayak away from the rock also failed.

It wasn't until a member of the team used a rescue saw to carve up the kayak that it was finally released.

Simon's body was recovered more than a mile downstream and returned to his family, who had travelled up from Cleveland, north-east England.

Fred said: "The incident showed how important our inter-agency communication is. Without the help of the mountain rescue guys, and the canoe and rafting guides, the kayak would probably still be there today."

Stuart Johnson, leader of Tayside Mountain Rescue team, who helped at Grandtully, also stressed the importance of teamwork.

He said: "The Fire and Rescue guys provide the water expertise and we help them with all the rope and pulley systems and getting safe access to difficult rescues. We also help with stabilising casualties and lifting them out from inaccessible areas.

"Grandtully showed how important it is that we work together."

The Tayside Fire and Rescue Team showed their skills again on Sunday night - and this time there was a happy ending.

The lads were called out to the River Isla, near Coupar Angus, where a boy of 15 had got into trouble while swimming.

Despite the sunshine, the water was bitterly cold, and the youngster was suffering from hypothermia. But the team managed to get throwing lines to him and pulled him out, and he was later allowed home from hospital.

It was a perfect example of how fun in the water can quickly turn into a nightmare. And Ross Cuthill, head of training at Tayside Fire and Rescue in Perth, urged the public to take care before braving Scotland's waterways.

He said: "The weather may be great where you are, but there may be a downpour 10 miles away which could have a huge effect on the river you and your kids are paddling.

"Always check the forecast, let people know where you're going and prepare adequately for whatever activity you're doing.

"If you expect and prepare for the worst, you won't go far wrong. It's very easy to get caught out."

Tuesday 13.4.2010

A firefighter has been taken to Borders General hospital after a training accident on the River Tweed near Cloverfords.

It is understood he was taking part in the training exercise when he disappeared under the water.

Officers from Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service managed to rescue him and resuscitated him on the river bank.

The fire fighter is said to be in a stable condition.

The incident happened at the Yair Bridge over the River Tweed in Selkirkshire at about 1430 BST

Four fire appliances were already on the scene when the alarm was raised that one of the exercise team had got into difficulties.

'Heavy rainfall'

The river is said to be swollen and fast flowing after heavy recent rainfall.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were carrying out water rescue training on the River Tweed in the Borders and there has been an incident.

"One of the fire fighters got into difficulties. He was taken to hospital where we understand he is now in a stable condition.

"We will be carrying out a full accident investigation."

The review was announced by the Minister for Community Safety, Fergus Ewing in May 2009. Mr Tomkins worked with a range of stakeholders, examining:

The resources and capabilities of all agencies currently involved in water rescue emergencies, including flooding;

Whether there is a need for changes in current operational arrangements between responders;

Whether there is a need for a change in the law covering the responders who cover water rescue;

The level of public awareness and education of the risks associated with open water.

The review drew on the experience and views of a broad range of responders and water users. An Advisory Group was convened of key stakeholders to assist Mr Tomkins with the review.

In his report, Mr Tomkins made a total of fifteen recommendations as to how local and national government and the emergency services can improve their collective response to flood and inland water rescue.

Fire Service College hosts the launch of International Flood Rescue exercise

Juliet Basford | 10 September 2009

The Fire Service College played host to the launch of an unprecedented multi-national exercise to test the capability of the emergency services in responding to incidents of major flooding.

Floodex 2009 is a four day emergency exercise, organised by the European Union, taking place in the Netherlands from 22 - 24 September 09.

Crews from nine UK Fire & Rescue Services and other specialist rescue organisations (including the RNLI), comprising 40 emergency response vehicles and over one hundred personnel, assembled at the College on Monday 21 September.

They attended a briefing on the exercise, which coincides with a seminar with 100 invited VIPs, including MPs and Chief Fire Officers, which includes an introduction to Floodex and flood risk, together with an overview of the Fire Service College and National Resilience programmes.

The convoy of crews and vehicles from across the UK then depart from the College for North Holland on Tuesday 22 September for the four-day exercise.   They joined emergency crews from Poland, Holland, Sweden and Estonia, who are also taking part in the exercise, which will simulate the tidal surge that devastated the UK and Holland in 1953 resulting in over 2000 fatalities.

Paul Hayden, Chief Fire Officer of Hereford & Worcester Fire & Rescue Service is co-ordinating the UK's contribution to Floodex.  CFO Hayden led national flood rescue efforts in 2007 and was recently appointed by the government to represent all flood rescue services on the national programme board. 

CFO Hayden said: "This exercise will be an ideal opportunity to test new arrangements we are putting in place for major flood responses across the UK as a result of the 2007 summer floods".

Kim Robinson, Chief Executive at the Fire Service College, said: "The Fire Service College performs a vital role in supporting the UK Fire & Rescue Service in their work to protect and save local communities. 

The College has been at the heart of the work to equip Fire & Rescue Services with the capability to be able to respond to major incidents of flooding, as already seen in recent years in South Yorkshire, Humberside and Gloucestershire.  This exercise will test and demonstrate that capability on a multi-national stage and we are delighted to be involved."