Everyone arrived at Farnborough Airport Fire Station ready
for an early start. Watch manager Fireman Peter Powell and his colleagues gave
us a warm welcome and then briefed us all about their Fire Station and their
duties and responsibilities regarding the airport, and our safety during our
visit. We were then briefed on the equipment used by Firemen and specifically
their breathing apparatus which everyone was invited to try on and all the boys
had a go. The boys were also introduced to the infrared camera and the
Fireman’s uniforms which they were invited to wear for the morning. Waiting
for us outside was a Rosenbauer Panther Fire Engine. Those boys that were able
to were invited to climb on top of the vehicle (which they accessed through the
cab of the Fire Engine) to use the Water Cannon which they used with great
enthusiasm. Those that had a physical disability were invited to use the cannon
sitting in the cab of the Fire Engine or a small Fireman’s hose on the ground.
The
next challenge was to rescue a casualty from a burning building. Our house
mock-up was below ground. Harmless
vegetable smoke was used to get a feel for the type of conditions Firemen have
to experience whilst fighting fires. To great applause the boys found the
casualty and carried him out. Next, a teamwork exercise in the Fireman’s
external training area. It was time to
do some hose work with full size hoses and get a feel for the strength of water
under pressure whilst attempting to knock over the
cone. Everyone was encouraged to work together as a
team and to shout commands at the person manning the fire hydrant such as ‘hose
on!!’ and ‘hose off!!’When this task was completed the whole team had to line
up and stand to attention whilst our senior fireman reported to the ‘Watch
manager’ that the task was complete. To identify that all Fireman were safe we
all had to shout our identifying numbers to the watch manager which we all
found hard to do without giggling. At the end of the day our young, brave
Firemen were awarded with honorary ‘Firefighter for a day’ certificates.
Our
thanks to Fire Chief Ian Fisher and Watch manager Peter Powell and all the team
at Farnborough Airport Fire Station for an awesome visit.
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