Alerter
All you ever wanted to know about
being a retained FireFighter in Suffolk

Four shouts in one day – just like the old days!

The last car had literally just left the fire station after having a make over at our charity car wash when the bells went and my alerter followed suit.

Car on fire in garage at Dell Road in the south of Lowestoft. Clifton would normally pick this up instead of the retained firefighters at Normanshurst but, due to lack of crew, they were off the run.

As we already had four retained firefighters on station we just had to wait for Dennis Newton to arrive and we were heading through the Saturday afternoon traffic towards Dell Road. The Stop message went in just as we rounded the corner into Dell Road.

Back to Normanshurst and finally get the brew that was promised half an hour back. With the tea quaffed I made my farewells and headed out of the appliance bay and home. Bells go and two seconds later my alerter can’t resist joining in.

This time it’s a fire in a bedroom of a house in Colville Road. Again south of the river and one that Clifton would have picked up if they had had sufficient crew.

The first floor bedroom of the property had been well alight when Ladder 1 arrived with a BA crew using a hosereel jet to knock the fire down. Two BA from Ladder 2 were also used to help ventilate and search the property.

We then had a few hours gap in which to down meals and watch either X-Factor or Strictly Come Dancing before the alerters called us yet again. Getting anyone to admit that they watch either of these fine pieces of televisual entertainment is unlikely but I know what they’re like…

And just after 9pm we get called to an AFA at Birds Eye (Ladder 1 was already at a shout) and then the ERT gets tipped out to another AFA at a sheltered housing complex.

So, that’s 10 shouts this week, four of them on one day. And yet sometimes we can go nearly two weeks without a shout. Explain that one to me if you can…

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– IAN CARTER (www.accessiblewebsites.co.uk)

www.alerter.co.uk