Hi Rob, Thanks for showing an interest. To save waffling on and potentially boring you guys, I found an old report I made from one particularly busy Bonfire Night in 2006. It might not sound much, but we attended 31 seperate fire incidents between around 2pm and midnight, we missed a good few more due to either driving or being out of the car and away from the scanner. It was so busy that night that our dispatch centre (control) didnt have enough staff to answer emergency calls, they had to be transfered to the Police and adjacent fire brigades...this is unheard of!
Anyway, below is my report - sorry if it's a bit long and I have but some explanations in incase you guys were wondering what is was.
Merseyside Fire Service experienced one of their busiest bonfire nights for several years last night which resulted in some VERY unusual appliance movements.
I thought it a good idea to try and keep a record of all calls we attended, and any incidents of note I heard, this should keep the historians amused in decades to come !
I won?t post the details of all 31incidents we attended, however read on to see the result of a very, very busy night....
Started at 14.00 and immediately evident that it was busy with crews getting turned out to bonfires around the city. Our first call we came across was a bonfire in Parthenon Drive, Norris Green - S8.2 (Old Swan) (Engine Company) attended. Interestingly they only extinguished the small bonfire which stood next to the huge pile of unlit timber, furniture, wheelie bins.
At this stage, plumes of smoke could be seen in all directions but before we could investigate, we headed to Branthwaite Crescent, Norris Green for a reported derelict house fire. The PDA of S8.2 and N3.1 (Croxteth) (two engines) arrived and found it to be rubbish to the rear of the house.
More bonfires followed, with most appliances proceeding at normal road speed and without blue lights, it was now 15.11 and we had taken in seven shouts already!!! Our next call of note was to the bin sheds on fire, Langholme Heights, Lower Lane, Fazakerley (hi-rise apartment block) - again N3 Croxteths area. No sooner had we arrived, then we were re-directing to an empty pub on fire in Toxteth. This was a bit of distance away, about 15 minutes but we continued due to the nature of WM Pikes informative " basement, ground and first floor of derelict pub involved ".(WM is a Watch Manager - Lieutenant in charge of a Engine company, an informative is a radio message to dispatch giving a size up of the fire) Needless to say when we arrived the fire was `licked` and the battalions of youths in the area made photos pointless.
Next up was another derelict building, this time a house fire, King Street Garston. Unfortunately, although this wasn?t an actual building on fire - the crews were attacked with bricks ! S1 Allerton took the wise choice to withdraw until police help arrived. Quite why these individuals should see crews as targets is beyond me, and it?s about time tougher sentences were handed out - like a flogging !!!
At this stage we were zipping across Liverpool going to various bonfires, and activity on the radio was quite brisk. One appliance from C4 Low Hill (C4.2) had mobilised to a fire on Townsend Lane, Walton. However on arrival he immediately `made pumps 2`(request a second engine) as this fire appeared to be a large number of tyres behind large hoardings. Police patrols attended to manage the traffic and S8.1 (Old Swan) completed the attendance.
It was night-time by now and approaching 17.30, things were steadily getting busier and busier. Our next call was to a reported building on fire, Spekeland Road, Wavertree. This road lies to the rear of the famous Edge Hill Railway Station. Additional info gave this as a `tyre garage on fire` attendance was two pumps. The large plume of thick black smoke as we were enroute confirmed this as a definate fire, however upon arrival it was indeed tyres on fire - but on wasteland in the open.
Unfortunately our next `shout` was probably one of the most dramatic of the evening. Both of C2 Liverpool City?s` pumps were sent to a house fire at Selbourne Street, Toxteth. Control informed the crews that this was a `call received from a child on mobile phone stating fence on fire, spread to house, possible persons reported`. We were literally seconds away from the incident whereas C2 were about 5 minutes away !
When we arrived at Selbourne Street the first thing we noticed was a crowd of spectators - an ominous sign ! To our surprise we found the rear of the house `engulfed` by flames with people shouting in the street ! I suppose with most of us, being `fire buffs` we appreciate the dangers of fire more than the general public, so to find ourselves on the scene of a very serious house fire with possible people still trapped inside and no fire brigade attendance, made us very anxious to say the least ! Thankfully - and I do mean thankfully, C2.1 and C2.2 arrived moments later and went about their work quickly and expertly.
It transpired that youths had set fire to the fence of this property which in turn had spread to the rear of the house. Fortunately, the elderly lady occupier was already out, albeit shaken and upset.
It was now just after shift change and it had turned hectic! We continued around, finding W1 Birkenhead attending an AFA (automatic fire alarm) at Philharmonic Court, Liverpool ! and S6 Toxteth at a stack of pallets on fire, Laurel Road, Kensington.
Our next incident then arrived. C4 Low Hill (C4.1) was enroute to a bonfire when he was re-directed to an office building on fire, Walton Road. Control must have took numerous calls to this as the PDA was increased with C1.1 Kirkdale. We were not too far away ourselves but both pumps arrived before us. Then C4.1 tried to pass an assistance message from the job but couldn?t get through via the radio, such was the volume of radio traffic. For three minutes he tried before he managed a `make pumps 3 for BA`.(request another two engines for SCBA) We arrived to find smoke issuing from a shop / flats building. C1.2 made up the third pump and `India One` - the IMU (Command Van - attends all three pump incidents and above)also attended. However good work by BA teams soon had the job licked and we continued.
Unfortunately from this point all hell was let loose with continuous calls streaming into control and appliances getting sent everywhere. Merseyside operate four radio channels, one for reserve so you can imagine trying to keep abreast of three channels of continuous radio activity was impossible. We quickly headed over to Breckside Park, Anfield were a large derelict house was reported to be alight. Imagine our surprise when we found a pump each from W1 Birkenhead and W6 Wallasey in attendance !! Both had come some distance to attend it was still only 19.00 hours !!
Again, we could only stay minutes as another potentially serious fire call came in - shop on fire, Lodge Lane, Toxteth. By now, the reduced attendance of a single pump was in force. We had hardly got going to Lodge Lane when a further fire call was received to a warehouse on fire, New Bird Street, Liverpool. This area has been the scene of many big jobs and no doubt that?s why control chose to send two pumps. Upon arrival crews found rubbish alongside a warehouse and the stop was quickly passed.
We then headed up to Cockburn Street (pronounced Coburn) Dingle to see S9 Belle Vale at a car fire on the football pitches. This was just streets away to where the famous Liverpool comedy `Bread` was filmed. With no sign of the Boswells !! we met up with Stephen Bell (another local buff) and immediately continued to our next shout - shop fire, Coral Racing, Townsend Lane. We only had a chance however to quickly drive past this address (no sign of fire to us, but there was a small fire inside the shop), before going to a `make pumps 3` flats on fire persons reported in nearby Kilshaw Street, Anfield. Here, crews rescued five people and a baby after some lowlife had thrown a firework into an empty ground floor flat. This in turn spread to other flats in the block.
We arrived to find a large ambulance and police attendance including one bobby on a 4x4 quad bike !! Smoke was billowing from all windows of the three-storey block but yet again it was onwards and a call to a warehouse on fire, Jordan Street, Liverpool. This was the street adjacent to the previous shout to New Bird Street and we suspected it could be a flare up of the previous fire.
W1.1 (Birkenhead) was on his own for this, however when he arrived he immediately made pumps three and shortly after aerials one (requires two more engines and one ladder truck). It was a completely separate warehouse from the previous call. This was a disused, single-storey type premise and was well alight inside. Crews used three main jets and a CPL monitor to quell the flames. The additional attendance was S9.1 Belle Vale and S8.2 Old Swan - usually about the 10th and 12th pumps to this location !!! The CPL (Bronto Aerial Ladder Platform) came from C2 Liverpool City.
At the same time as this incident, a further pump was mobilised to an empty pub on fire on nearby Stanhope Street - literally about 500m from the MP3. This transpired to be underground cables on fire.
By now the crews at the warehouse fire were gaining the upper hand so we managed a few more quick pictures and carried on.
At this stage we heard the most unusual attendance of the night, a single pump from N4 Crosby (N4.1) mobilised to a derelict house on fire in Shelly Grove, Garston !!!
This is literally from one end of the county to the other and the appliance had to travel through SIX station areas to reach the incident.
Upon arrival he sent an assistance message to make pumps two, aerials one - three unoccupied houses well alight. This assigned S8.1 (Old Swan) and the retained-manned CPL from W1 Birkenhead.
We hung around The Strand near to the Liver Buildings and waited for the CPL to pass us `on the bell`.
Our final incident of the day was yet another derelict building, this time at Goodall Street, Kirkdale. Again, single pump attendance this time from N4 Crosby (N4.2) and upon arrival, thick black smoke was billowing from the top floor and attic of this large, three-storey building. N4.2 sent an assistance message `make pumps 2` however a rapid water attack by BA men soon knocked down this fire and the second pump was cancelled.
And so concludes one of the busiest bonfire nights I?ve experienced in ten years of following the brigade. No doubt we missed other incidents of note, but we did the best we could to keep tabs on this hectic period.
Some other interesting facts about last night....
At one stage, control was so overwhelmed with 999 calls, operators were forced to re-route them to Lancashire Fire Service and Greater Manchester.
At one stage, a friend tried to pass a 999 call for a car fire but spent 10 minutes trying to get through, before the operator put him through to Merseyside Police who took the details!!!!!
