Fire call

The Volunteer rescue unit, we had been drinking with these guys the night before.

After another stint at a response post we were given a call in the centre of Richmond. It was a fire call. When we arrived it was no different to here in the UK. There were fire trucks everywhere. A shop was well alight and it had spread into the adjacent roof spaces of other shops. We stopped at one end of the street and liaised with one of the fire chiefs. A volunteer rescue unit also pulled up to where we were. Their role was to set up 'Fire rehab', this is basically a shelter where the fire fighters come to rest and get checked out to make sure they are OK to continue working. They spend no longer than 15 minutes in the fire and are then with drawn. They will then have their vital signs monitored and are given ice cold drinks. If their vitals are OK they get to go back in. This isn't all that popular with the fire fighters because all they want to do is their job. It's for their own safety which they accept. The RAA crew then supervise the overall health care needs of the fire fighters.