Firemans strike 1978

[Very Heavy very Humble]

Just thinking back to this time, I was on my Gen Mech Mech GSE course at Saints. We got circa 4 hours training and deployed with a Green Goddess to Ebbw Vale to join up with some lads from RAF Valley.
Any other Goat members get to take part?

 

[Realist78]

I was in training for the majority of 1978 but didn't get called out, there seemed to be a lot of p1ssed off people at Scampton when I got there after Chrimble 78 though.

 

[ajay]

Went from West Drayton up to Catterick then Caterrick to Locking in the space of 48 hours then spent 14 lovely weeks in BristolDT_Xtremez_30:

 

[Digzster]

Went from West Drayton up to Catterick then Caterrick to Locking in the space of 48 hours then spent 14 lovely weeks in BristolDT_Xtremez_30:

Just goes to show nothing changes ajay, I was turfed out of Locking and sent to Newcastle to cover there. They said at the time that you could not do fire cover where you actually lived. We did though get put up in a TA hall with racks of combat clothing and told to "help ourselves" as the RSM could not believe they sent us with No 2's, green overalls & wellies to fight fires. Top bloke he was.

 

[Tedlooney]

There was a story at the time that an RAF crew and green goddess got called out on an emergency only to find it was an old lady's cat stuck up a tree. The lads got the cat down and the grateful lady gave them all tea and cake. As they drove away they ran the cat over and killed it. Probaly made up but it made me chuckle.

 

[Littleoldwinedrinkerme]

Green goddess and the cat

Green goddess and the cat

I don't think the story was made up! I think that it was a crew from Odiham and I think my old team chief was in charge! He let slip this story one well lubricated beer call!

 

[ajay]

We sent SEVERAL gallons of water (4" branch) down a chimney trying to put out a chimney fire - to this day I still wonder where it all went:DT_Xtremez_09:

 

[Digzster]

Keen as mustard we were. First real "shout" was to a barn fire. Spent ages looking for the hydrant that the map said was there. Ended up calling out another two pumps to relay a line from a hydrant and the end of the lane (meanwhile barn glows ever brighter).
Imagine the chief's face when we packed up (cursing the hydrant map) to find he had got our goddess parked on top of the damn thing!

Laugh......I nearly Sh*t myself! Good job the farmer had insurance and wanted to do repairs anyway.

 

[Barch]

RAF Leeming to RAF Catterick for 4 hours training.

3 Tonner over the penines in the snow to Weeton Barracks near Blackpool for food and a kip.

Blackburn for the duration and boy was it fun.

 

[gemarriott]

I don't think the story was made up! I think that it was a crew from Odiham and I think my old team chief was in charge! He let slip this story one well lubricated beer call!

It was true, made the national press.

I was on my fitters course and surprisingly not called up for fire fighting.

 

[morse1001]

There was a story at the time that an RAF crew and green goddess got called out on an emergency only to find it was an old lady's cat stuck up a tree. The lads got the cat down and the grateful lady gave them all tea and cake. As they drove away they ran the cat over and killed it. Probaly made up but it made me chuckle.

The Sgt in Charge of the Unit that was responsible was Mick Patterson, who I served with out in Belize.

Simon Donagan who was a Irish Guards Lt, used to talk about the incident, where his unit was called out the deal with a car on fire. They got to the scene and then turned the water hoses on a red hot car!

I trained to use the breathing Apparatus but the Fireman union said that they would boycott the equipment after the strike ended.

My old school was set on fire and the Bootnecks attended, they did not fight the fire, the poured water into the Science block, which was at the other side of the building!

 

[firestorm]

There was a story at the time that an RAF crew and green goddess got called out on an emergency only to find it was an old lady's cat stuck up a tree. The lads got the cat down and the grateful lady gave them all tea and cake. As they drove away they ran the cat over and killed it. Probaly made up but it made me chuckle.

Top urban myth! DT_Xtremez_14:

Been doing the rounds in various guises for years.

 

[firestorm]

I trained to use the breathing Apparatus but the Fireman union said that they would boycott the equipment after the strike ended.

Simple reason for this. You weren't certified to LAFS/CFBAC levels so the kit had to go away to workshops for a full service to retain its safety certificate.

 

[morse1001]

I feel given the politics of the strike, it had more to do with denying the Armed Forces the equipment to do the job properly. After all, there could have been people in those buildings etc.

 

[firestorm]

Not at all, you could have used them but they would have all had to go for recertification and the employers didn't want the expense and down time without BA post strike. It would have taken months to get all the sets back on the run. The military still had BA, as they did in the 02/03 dispute.

 

[Very Heavy very Humble]

BA equipment

BA equipment

I feel given the politics of the strike, it had more to do with denying the Armed Forces the equipment to do the job properly. After all, there could have been people in those buildings etc.

Im pretty certain we didnt have any BA equipment all but think there was a local Fire Officer on-call if anything big occured. Our equipment was very basic but then so was our knowledge of fighting fires! I never heard of any RAF lads using BA at this time.

 

[firestorm]

I think I'm right in saying that like the 02/03 strike only specialist firefighters (RAF&RN firefighters) wore BA because of the training implications.

 

[monobrow]

I think I'm right in saying that like the 02/03 strike only specialist firefighters (RAF&RN firefighters) wore BA because of the training implications.

Not at all, there were all trades employed on it as we lost one guy for about 3 months as he went on the training...

 

[firestorm]

I don't think you're right mono.
Only RAF and RN firefighters wore BA.
http://www.operations.mod.uk/fresco/bart_facts.pdf

 

[br9mp81]

I don't think you're right mono.
Only RAF and RN firefighters wore BA.
http://www.operations.mod.uk/fresco/bart_facts.pdf

Most bart teams were made of sevice personel,who had been trained for that role,raf or rn firefighters were the oics of these teams,and were "made up for the role"
for the first strike in the 70s,there were 1000s of real raf or rn firemen to hand by the 2000s this figure was down to the 100s of firefighters that could be used.
i must say that the marines i helped to train were a credit to the corp and themselfs if not just a little bit loopy.