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Praise for retained Kent firefighters |
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Retained firefighters from Eastry, Whitfield and Aylesham have been praised by a senior officer for their professionalism and courage during a very serious fire
Kent Fire and Rescue Service was called to a large three-storey detached property in Church Street, Eythorne at 1707 on November 20 after police patrol officers reported smoke rising from the building’s roof, with people trapped inside. Control room operators initially sent appliances from Eastry, Whitfield and Aylesham to the incident, and once at the scene, the crews immediately called for back up, resulting in resources from across East Kent being sent.
At its height approximately 75 firefighters, 12 appliances and several other specialist vehicles attended the incident. Elsewhere in the county –15 minutes after this incident – firefighters were sent to Manor Way, Swanscombe, following reports of a paper workshop alight. Area Manager for East Division Steve Griffiths said: “When the retained fire crews arrived at the scene they were told that there were possibly five people trapped inside. They promptly entered the building in breathing apparatus, under very challenging circumstances, to search for casualties. Thankfully, everyone was accounted for and there were no injuries. The breathing apparatus crews should be praised for their professionalism, tenacity and ability to work under pressure in very difficult conditions.
“Due to the building’s size and the ferocity of the fire, we had to employ a large number of resources to tackle the blaze, using a number of specialist appliances to fight the fire. Elsewhere, a large number of appliances had been sent to a fire at a paper factory in Swanscombe. Coordinating staff worked extremely hard to manage both incidents, as well as ensuring that resources were available for other incidents in the county.” He continued: “Fire crews at Eythorne extinguished the majority of the fire by around 2300. An hour later we were able to scale down our resources at the incident and began checking for hot spots and put a salvage operation into effect. As well as praising our firefighters and control room staff, I also wanted to thank the local community who were very generous, helpful and patient in very difficult circumstances. We are also grateful to the local church for opening the church hall to provide shelter and refreshments for those involved.”
Ambulance and police staff were also called to the scene for firefighter welfare and traffic management.
Following the incident, crews continued to cool the building and check for hotspots. They also assisted the local council’s building control officer and structural engineer during an inspection of the property. Senior officers have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, although it is not thought to be suspicious.
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