LFEPA Fire Service Access Awareness Day
On Tuesday November 29th, the following IFC staff (with appropriate ‘London’s Burning’ nicknames) took part in Fire Service Access Awareness Day, courtesy of the LFEPA; Pete ‘Sewer-rat’ Black In the best traditions of ‘what I did on my School Trip’, this is an account of our day at being Firefighters. Our instructions were to be at Hampton House on London’s Albert Embankment at 08:15, so this meant an early start for all. The IFC team met at Marylebone at 07:25 and descended into the Tube, emerging from Vauxhall station, along with the spies going to MI6, about 20 minutes later. A short walk to Hampton House followed. On arrival at Hampton House, we were met by the course Organiser, Lynsey Chatfield, who took us up to a Conference Room for our briefing. This is where our first challenge arose. How to get Tea or Coffee out of the Vending machine!! Whilst waiting, participants from other Consultancies arrived, as did the Instructors, who are all members of LFEPA’s Fire Safety Engineering Team. These guys all know Tom & some other members of the team from the original fire safety discussions as part of the scheme design stage of the Whitecity project.The familiarity lead to Tom getting plenty of ‘stick’ from the white-helmeted Instructors during the course of the day! Once assembled, we were given a briefing, containing some (unfounded) threats about what would happen and an overview of the day, particularly with it’s relevance to B5 of AD’B’. It was explained that the aim was to make Designers and Engineers aware of the environment Firefighters had to work in and how this should be considered in schemes/strategies. After the briefing, we went down to the Main Entrance, where a Minibus was waiting to take us through the mean streets of South London to the LFEPA’s Southwark Training Centre, venue for the day’s exercises. At Southwark, we, first, changed into the loose clothing that we had been advised to wear, and then we went to be kitted out in Boots, Trousers, Tunic and Helmet. This proved to be a lottery, involving a lot of trial and error. Tom’s long legs caused the biggest problem, but he eventually found a pair of trousers that didn’t end 300mm from his boots! Then it was outside to the Yard for the main event! Our first activity was to be shown around the Fire Engine we would be using, by its driver, Clive. The side lockers were opened to show us the various pieces of equipment that we would be using during the day; Hoses, Hydrant Branches, Tools, and all the essential items that are needed to be ‘taken aloft’ to a fire at high level. The latter items gave us a clue to the nature of the exercises to come. Next, we were shown how to open a hydrant, fit the stand-pipe and turn on the water. This was demonstrated by our Instructors, who admitted that it was several years since any of them had done it. Then came hose-rolling. This is not some ancient ritual that is done every year in a small Suffolk village. It actually describes the action of taking a roll of hose from the Fire Engine and throwing it, underarm, to unroll it. I guess that the secret to this is, as they say, “all in the wrist action”, because some rolled beautifully down the yard, whilst others collapsed in a lump about 2 metres in front of the thrower. The other thing to remember is to give the end a yank – it certainly makes a difference! Once the hoses were rolled out, they were connected to the Hydrant, then the nozzle was fitted and water squirting began! Due to the water pressure, there were 2 people on the business end of each hose – one to squirt and the other, standing behind with a hand on their shoulder, to stop them shooting backwards! The exercise involved us advancing down the yard whilst spraying water. I think it was just an excuse to clean the yard. After this we were taught the rather laborious function of ‘making up’ (i.e. getting surplus water out of the hose and then rolling it up neatly, before putting it back on the Fire Engine). These exercises involved 4 people at a time, so once each group finished; Clive introduced them to Breathing Apparatus (BA). We weren’t allowed to wear masks (Health & Safety), but Clive showed us how to put on and adjust the air tank. In each subsequent exercise, BA would be worn by the 3 person team at the head of the firefighting operations. Once the initial squirting was complete, we commenced the first proper exercise. The scenario involved a fire on the 5th floor of the practice building. Three volunteers donned BA to fight the fire and the rest of us had to provide support with all the hose lengths, tools, etc. The first problem was to decide how to get the hoses to high level. Pressed by the Instructors for a decision, 2 of IFC’s crack team, raced up to the 4th floor bridgehead with a hose, then rolled it down the stairs to meet others coming up. When all hoses were connected to the Pump, the command “Water on” was given and the hose almost came alive as it filled with water. When full, it had to be manoeuvred in the staircase, so that the firefighting team had sufficient hose length to reach the fire. A fully charged 70mm hose is heavy and unwieldy, so this involved much physical effort and we realised why we had been advised to wear T shirts under our tunics. We all got very hot and bothered, especially Pete, who revealed a new talent – the ability to steam like a Power Station Cooling Tower. When the fire (a traffic cone) was extinguished, we all gathered on the Firehouse roof for a debrief with the bonus of a fine view over London’s skyline. The Instructors were pleased with the teamwork shown and the fact that, for the first time ever, all equipment had been taken aloft. However, our hose laying from the top down wasn’t the approved method and the whole exercise had taken 17 minutes. Not quite the response time to devise a strategy around! All the equipment then had to be ‘made up’ and reinstalled on the Fire Engine. After a biscuit break, where ‘Chubber’ demonstrated that heavy Firefighting kit wasn’t going to stop him being the first one to get a Custard Cream, we did the exercise again. This time we achieved a time of 7 minutes. After more ‘making up’, the Instructors then showed us how to take a hose up the outside of a building using ropes, before we retired to the Canteen, where a fine buffet lunch awaited. In the best IFC tradition, 4 of our team got stuck into the food. Meanwhile, Rob pumped some of the opposition (2 ladies from a competitor!) for information. The lunch was excellent, although, someone rather overdid the Onion Bhaji’s and we had a demonstration of ‘backdraft’ for most of the afternoon. After a well earned break, we faced our next exercise. This involved using a Dry Riser, which saved having to lug hoses up stairs, but we had to fight a fire 60m away from the Riser outlet through a tortuous layout of rooms. We also had to find and rescue casualties (i.e. dummies). Before starting, we were instructed in the use of a Dry Riser; then it was time to fight fires again. The exercise demonstrated some aspects of Firefighting Shaft design; the 5m2 Lobby became very congested with hoses, and all access doors were wedged open with hoses, showing the need for ventilation of smoke. After more ‘making-up’, the exercise was repeated, with yours truly as one of the BA team. Again, the action of moving a hose around corners and through doors, where it frequently snagged, whilst wearing BA, involved a lot of physical effort. There was one more round of ‘making up’ before the large ‘135’ ladder was removed from the Fire Engine for a final demonstration. Four of us took it in turns to hold this heavy item so that we could appreciate the effort involved in moving it for up to 45m, sometimes over difficult ground. Once the ladder was stowed away, the practical element of the day was over. This was greeted with a spontaneous burst of applause, not because it had ended, but because everyone had thoroughly enjoyed a great day. We then got out of our uniforms and went back to the Locker Rooms for a clean-up and a change of clothes before meeting up for a final debrief. This involved a review with all the Fire Safety Engineering Team, followed by a Q& A session, before we picked up our London Fire Brigade T-shirts and headed to the nearby Goldsmiths Arms for a well earned beverage (or 2) and further discussions on fire matters with the LFEPA team. All in all, it was a physically demanding, yet hugely enjoyable day. It was also very informative. Even though we were exercising in fairly benign conditions (i.e. no heat, smoke or darkness), it provided a graphic illustration of the challenges that Firefighters face and the splendid job that they do. It also demonstrated that the provision of good access for firefighting is very important!! DjI IFC Group |