Helmsley firefighters get equipment upgrade (From Gazette & Herald)

Helmsley firefighters get equipment upgrade

HELMSLEY fire brigade, which covers some of North Yorkshire's most spectacular countryside, is also responsible for dealing with a growing number of road crashes in its area.

As a result, it has now been upgraded with new equipment, enabling its firefighters to free victims from the wreckage of vehicles.

"An increasing number of calls are to road accidents - about 50pc," said sub-officer Ian Pattison who is in charge of the station.

"That's why we have been provided with a new pump and enhanced cutting gear."

In recent years, the brigade raised £3,000 to buy specialist cutting gear which the county fire brigade could not afford. Within weeks of the appeal, the people of Helmsley had reached the target, resulting in the brigade becoming well-equipped to deal with non-fire emergencies in an area which stretches from Fangdale Beck to Brandsby and Nawton.

Because of its remoteness - the fire station is 30 miles from the nearest major stations at Scarborough and Middlesbrough, and 20 miles from York - the brigade is staging a big fundraising event to benefit the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Service, which is being used increasingly in the area, says sub-officer Ian Pattison who is in charge of the station.

"It can get to an emergency so much quicker than a conventional road ambulance, which has to deal with heavy traffic in summer and often difficult road conditions in winter."

On Saturday July 10, the brigade is holding a mammoth jumble sale which will raise funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Fire Brigade Benevolent Fund, which aids firefighters who are injured or their families if they lose their lives.

Mr Pattison said an appeal was being made for local helpers for the sale.

"The problem is, we shall still be on call so we may suddenly find ourselves racing off to an emergency when the sale is going on," said Ian. In addition, items for the sale are being sought and they can be taken to the station on a Tuesday between 7pm and 9 pm, on the Friday before the sale, or on the day itself.

The brigade is one of the oldest in the county, dating back before 1868 when it was formed as part of the operations at Duncombe Park Estate before the brigade moved into the Market Place, then to its present home in Station Road. Firefighter Mark Wilshaw is currently researching the brigade's history.

Like many rural brigades, its 11 part-time members have a wide range of full-time jobs, among them painters, decorators, a butcher, a dry stone waller and farmer, says Ian, who is a painter. The station which averages some 100 call-outs a year.

Other members are leading firefighters David Wains and Gavin Crusher, and firefighters Ian Wilson, Keith Maynard, Neil Robinson, Nigel Seymour, Mark Wilshaw, John Zarb, Brian Metcalfe and its sole female member, Hazel Thompson.

Anyone interested in joining the brigade, which is looking for new recruits, is asked to go along to the fire station on a Tuesday between 7pm and 9pm.

Updated: 11:13 Wednesday, June 30, 2004