BA to the rescue, along with lots of others!

[JennyMorgan]

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/four_people_are_rescued_from_sinking_rowing_boat_on_broad_near_norwich_1_4036342

 

The public services were out in force, but surely it was a case of response overkill?

[smellyloo]

Glad there was no casualties.

 

Looks like it Turned out to be a fruitful exercise for the emergency services accessing a relatively difficult location.

[Rincewind]

Massive overkill. Must have been a 'slow news day' too.

It'll probably go down in the BA records as another 'near drowning incident'.

 

Having said that, good to know that nobody was injured.

[Matt]

The trouble with these things are initial details are always sketchy so worse case is assumed.

[Guest]

Easy to be critical of emergency services with hindsight.

 

Better that way than "under reacting".

 

Glad to hear no one was injured or lost their life.

[JawsOrca]

(Lifejackets should be worn at all times whilst the vessel is in motion and certainly if it's sinking.. If there's not enough onboard then that's not right and someone should get a slapped wrist at least)

[Wussername]

Three fire engines!

One crew came from Thetford!!

By the way, one or two incidents on the Southern rivers of late, but no mention of the SOB.

Although I hasten to add a BA launch was in attendance.

[Matt]

By the way, one or two incidents on the Southern rivers of late, but no mention of the SOB.

Although I hasten to add a BA launch was in attendance.

Possibly because the many times it is called into action it stops the event becoming news worthy?

[JennyMorgan]

Easy to be critical of emergency services with hindsight.

 

Better that way than "under reacting".

 

Glad to hear no one was injured or lost their life.

I was with the Coastguard for a number of years where I had the power (!) to be able to call in whatever resources I deemed nescessary  Mind you I would probably have got my marching orders for calling on inappropriate or unproportional resources.  Yes, it easy to be critical of the emergency services, in hindsight, but in this case a fire engine from Thetford? With local knowledge and suitable training a more reasonable response was all that was needed, in this case the BA had a launch in the area. If someone is going to drown, or die of hyperthermia, they'd almost certainly have done it before a fire engine got there from Thetford. Had I been on, and the Coastguard called, I would have requested a launch by the inshore boat at Gt Yarmouth RNLI, been there a darn site quicker than a fire engine from Thetford. Seemingly an excessive and inappropriate response.

[BroadScot]

JM,

 

You or other locals may be able to correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember the Fire Engine Station at Loddon being called out to a shout like that, years ago. In fact I use to play darts with some of the part time crew in The Angel !

 

I was not up the hill in Loddon last visit, so has that station been closed down now?

 

 

Iain

[Guest]

.......Seemingly an excessive and inappropriate response.....

 

As well as using hindsight, your original EDP link contains a mixture of third party reports, with no official details of what actually happened.

 

The online Fire Brigade incident feed shows the official log for their people:

 

"Appliances from Earlham, Thetford and Loddon attended a sinking boat. The crews assisted to move casualties to safety using a boat."

 

from http://www.norfolkfireservice.gov.uk/nfrs/live-incident-feed

 

I would be reluctant to make any negative comments on any proffesional rescue services without being in possesion of the full facts as they were experienced by them while it was happening.

[LondonRascal]

It is hard line to tread – because of what we know in the report all turned out ok, but if it had ended in tragedy – even if that was part down to those involved not taking due care with their safety such as wearing a life jacket, if there had not been much of a response from the emergency services a lot of questions would be being asked.  I think they go ‘all guns blazing’ just in case as then you have resources there not having to be called in if the situation deteriorates.

 

I won’t go into too many details for now but on my recent visit to the Broads I had a rather worrying incident occur on the boat where due to a major electrical failure of the Argo FET Battery Isolator it caught fire for a short period.  At the time I was rather alarmed and panicking and needed to moor the boat as fast as I could and was thinking if I should call 999 or not – as it happened once the engine was off all that was left was a lot of smoke and horrid smell of burnt cable insulation and resin from within the metal body of the unit. 

 

But things can happen so rapidly it has made me think of the importance of what one should do just in case – where are battery isolators how to use them, familiarise yourself with extinguishers and their operation, even when onboard know where life jackets are to grab if needed in a rush keep numbers saved in your phone not on paper or in manuals on the boat that might take time to go through to find the right ones as it is better to have a preparation/drill in advance than make it up as you go along when your mind is running so fast and the adrenalin is pumping.

[ChrisB]

The water rescue squad and rescue boat (only one in Norfolk) are based in Thetford. 

[ChrisB]

Had to leave before I finished. If this incident had not had a happy ending it is usually the Fire Service who have the unenviable job of recovery this is the most likely reason for the involvement of Thetford.

On a lighter note what is that craft? is it one of those from Oulton that you could put your caravan on?

[JennyMorgan]

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/family_thanks_rescuer_after_boat_drama_on_the_broads_1_4037300

 

Good on the BA

[JennyMorgan]

Strowager, no problems with the actual professional services, just the suits that organise it.

 

The system does appear flawed though, especially as both the BA & various  lifeboats are readily available on the Broads, all of which are a darn site nearer than Thetford!

[Matt]

So if you dial 999 in an emergency and speak to the operator and he subsequent services are then dispatched.

At what point are the BA contacted?

[Guest]

Strowager, no problems with the actual professional services, just the suits that organise it.

 

The system does appear flawed though, especially as both the BA & various  lifeboats are readily available on the Broads, all of which are a darn site nearer than Thetford!

 

Peter, we still have no knowledge of how the various emergency services were alerted, and in what order, and by who.

 

...and Chris has already explained that the Thetford fire brigade are the ones equipped with a boat.

 

When they are possibly contacted first, should they take a chance on someone else having a boat quickly available, when minutes might save lives ?

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

JM,

 

You or other locals may be able to correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember the Fire Engine Station at Loddon being called out to a shout like that, years ago. In fact I use to play darts with some of the part time crew in The Angel !

 

I was not up the hill in Loddon last visit, so has that station been closed down now?

 

 

Iain

 

Hi Iain,

 

One of the retained firecrew at Loddon is John Cressy from Maffett cruisers.

 

I remember back in July 89, a couple of fiends and i hired one of their boats called "Mandarin", and when returning to Loddon on the Friday afternoon, imagine our surprise when we came round one of the bends around the Nogdam end area, only to find a cow standing in the middle of the river. The poor animal was obviously stuck and unable to get out, so, being before the mobile phone revolution, we had to wait till we got back to the yard before we could report it. John told us to phone 999 and ask for the fire brigade name Loddon as the nearest station. While we were describing where the animal was to the emergency operator, we heard the fire engine sirens going down the lane towards Hardly. When they returned about 2 hours later, they got the animal out, with no injuries etc, but the farmer did`nt seem to be bothered?.

 

At least we helped to save one of Gods creatures.

 

As for Loddon fire station, it`s still there, but i`m not sure whether John is still part of the crew anymore?.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I have to say i agree with JM, a vastly excessive use of facilities.

 

I remember thinking the same last year when they discovered a body in Oulton broad. For that they had a hazaerdous response unite come all the way from Essex. For a body in the river? and that`s not mentioning all the fire appliances and ambulances from all over East Anglia.

[BroadScot]

Hi Neil,

 

I remember Dave Pipe at Astons telling us about that cow. The boatyards never fail to amaze me still after all these years what they do to go out of their way, to make OUR Holidays so memorable.

 

 

Iain

[JennyMorgan]

I rather suspect that the original caller dialed 999 and that the fire brigade rather than the coast guard was called, not the fault of the fire brigade in itself, rather that the system, once again, doesn't understand the Broads.

[JennyMorgan]

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=off&q=Thetford+to+Rockland+St+Mary+distance

 

Draw your own conclusion!

[Matt]

I really do struggle to see issue here.

Someone dialled 999 and reported that their boat containing 4 people was sinking so the fire brigade send their specialist appliance along?

[JennyMorgan]

I'm sorry to say it, Matt, but in return I struggle to understand just why you don't or won't see the problem. It wasn't one response vehicle but several, as happened at Oulton Broad last year. The fire brigade's one specialist unit, from Thetford, was hardly near and handy. The Broads is not short on boats, both the RNLI & Hemsby have quick response units available. The Gorleston RIB was the most obvious choice, as was the BA, both in the immediate area, both on ch16 so why on earth call out a response unit from Thetford. It also meant that the Thetford unit was off-station and obviously unavailable in its own immediate area. All that aside, the casualties were only up to their waists in water, right next to a reedbed. The SOB couldn't have helped because of her draft. It needed a quick response, not to avoid drowning, but so as to avoid hyperthermia so time was important. Why call a unit from Thetford when suitable help was more readily on hand via the coastguard & the RNLI as well as the BA itself? It really doesn't make sense. The system really does need reviewing. Relying on a specialist unit from Thetford could have been a killer, time was of the essence.