Newbury Fire Cover halved ue to Royal Dog false alarm, Is this fair to WBC taxpayers or Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Options

[gel]

Newbury Fire Tender & one from Reading attend Bucklebury Manor:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-23...apped-gate.html

Not what Fire Service are for in my opinion

[JeffG]

False alarm? Are you suggesting the dog didn't have its head trapped?

[user23]

Newbury Fire Tender & one from Reading attend Bucklebury Manor:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-23...apped-gate.html

Not what Fire Service are for in my opinion

The fire and rescue service shouldn't rescue animals?

Who should in your view?

[gel]

False alarm? Are you suggesting the dog didn't have its head trapped?

Surely the Manor had a hack saw/ some resources to help themselves?
If not, this would be better directed at RSPCA ;if they're incapable of removing dog,
they'd call appropriate authority.

I'm an animal lover, but Fire Services are very stretched, and fighting fires, dealing
with RTC's is their primary responsibility. Newbury still relies on 1 retained tender I recall,
so if a fire had taken place North of Newbury, it's a long way for the full time tender to
get from Bucklebury; say 15mins to Chieveley.

" If you have a cat stuck up a tree, or a chimp up a chimney, the fire brigade should not be the first people you call, fire chiefs said today.

London Fire Brigade is concerned that it is having to deal with a rising number of animal rescues, with crews called out on average every 14 hours to deal with a creature in trouble last year.

Fire crews in the capital had to rescue 620 animals last year, a 60% increase over six years, and have already had to deal with more calls in the first half of this year than the same period in 2011.

[Andy Capp]

Some times these incidents are used as a drill. So just like penalties in a football tournament, there's nothing like a real 'emergency'.

[Strafin]

So better to have them sitting round doing nothing?

[motormad]

So better to have them sitting round doing nothing?

Yes that would probably be better.
I'd have round house kicked the dog out of the railing personally.

[On the edge]

Looks as if the initial call wasn't handled very well. Presumably the caller made the problem known and if the operator had been trained, could have been given a few alternatives to try - including the numbers of local emergency plumbers / locksmiths etc. Dispatching two units, as Andy C says could only have been for training; hence the blue lights etc. Would they really have done that unnecessarily. Regrettably, the cynic in me is screaming someone thought this would given the Fire Service some cheap publicity. A Royal story, with animals and firemen - so we all feel good. Out of date thinking sadly, all that's happened is they've been made to look like the Keystone Cops. Perhaps our baby gift to the Royal couple could be a domestic tool kit.

[user23]

It's called the Fire and Rescue Service, not the Fire Service.

If it's being proposed that the more well off should not have access to their services, that they should provide for themselves, I wonder where people think the cut off point should be?

[Andy Capp]

It's called the Fire and Rescue Service, not the Fire Service.

If it's being proposed that the more well off should not have access to their services, that they should provide for themselves, I wonder people think the cut off point should be?

I agree with user23 here, however, I know that the fire and rescue service are usually reluctant to attend anything that doesn't threaten human life. Besides, one day it might be 'your' pet.

[Simon Kirby]

Newbury Fire Tender & one from Reading attend Bucklebury Manor:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-23...apped-gate.html

Not what Fire Service are for in my opinion

Of course it's appropriate for the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service to attend if there's a domestic animal in distress. Their job is to protect life and property, and not just from fire, it's the Fire and Rescue Service who have the training and equipment for all manner of situation from pumping flood water, river rescue, vehicle accidents, collapsed buildings, and indeed heads stuck in railings.

You'd no doubt expect the Fire and Rescue Service to put out a blaze in a crappy £159 B&Q shed which was covered in the household insurance and had no emotional significance, so don't you think the family dog in distress is more deserving that that?

The Fire and Rescue Service were involved in several other animal rescues this year - a bull that got stuck in a field (around 15 firefighters, including two pumps from Newbury and Tilehurst, plus the animal rescue unit from Caversham Road, Reading), a horse that slipped into the canal (pumps from Newbury, Whitley Wood and Tilehurst fire stations, along with the water rescue unit from Caversham Road, Reading), and a horse stuck in a stream (two fire engines from Newbury, along with Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s animal rescue unit from Caversham Road in Reading and the heavy rescue unit from Tilehurst – a total 20 firefighters) - and you didn't kick off about those rescues, so why now?


The Daily Mail is a hateful paper who's only intention is to inflame your reactionary middle-class indignation. This was a great troll, and they snagged you.

[Nothing Much]

Well I do agree with Simon about the story in the Mail which seemed similar to the Benyon Hose Disaster.

I would say though that cattle and such are far too large and dangerous for a couple of well meaning passers by to help.
( a bit of generalisation there). Still a dog can be stressed by the situation and cause more harm than necessary.
For goodness sake I have done dafter things, like the monkey and the bottle. Trying to clean the bottom of a vase my hand swelled up for some reason and I had to spend a while wondering whether smashing the glass was a good idea.

On a similar subject ,whilst not anything to do with Bucklebury or even Berkshire. Some young lad managed to shut
Ipswich railway station for most of a day by prancing around on a roof in his boxers. Described as armed,he managed to drop his retractable Stanley(other makes are available) Space there for a Frankie Howard innuendo.. All the while an ambulance and Fire Engine were on standby.
The young lad was obviously good material for a future career in the fire and rescue services scaling the roof at 08.30.
It took several hours to find a ladder trained PC to ask him to come down.
To be fair the roof did look like lightweight material so the SWAT team were treated to kebabs.
ce

[On the edge]

It all comes down to proportion; that's true for ALL the emergency services. Only call on them when you really do have a problem and can't work out any other way to solve it. Unfortunately this ethos, where the community means far more than the individual is long gone.

[GMR]

Newbury Fire Tender & one from Reading attend Bucklebury Manor:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-23...apped-gate.html

Not what Fire Service are for in my opinion

The trouble is the police/ fire brigade are not as robust as they should be; i.e. punishing people for wasting time.

[gel]

And now a large contingent of local Old Bill diverted away from protecting the commoners of W Berkshire to maintain fortress around Bucklebury Palace, at huge cost: if they'd stayed put in their previous more humble house, would have needed far less personnel:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-23...Bucklebury.html

[Strafin]

The old bill just sit around doing nothing most of the time anyway, they might as well do it in Bucklebury

[tom1]

have to agree with an earlier posting - why could not someone on the property got a saw out -assuming it was a wooden gate.

[Gazzadp]

Well I thought I posted complete crap, but it is nice to know that some are even better at it than me!

The fact is and has already been pointed out the Fires Service look on some animal rescues as practice drills, as in most cases the fact is a small animal will recat in much the same way as a small child, by that what I mean is they will be more or unpredictable and therefore they will require the personel to work very carefully so as to cause any further stress or harm.

Now as for the second IGNORANT load of crap, yes Thames Valley Police will be involved in some of the security at Bucklebury, but they will only be the there to be visible. The main security will be provided by the Met, there will also be another group of people in and around Bucklebury, who although they are not police they will be there and they will be more well equipped than any police unit!

As when the royal couple are in Anglesea it is public knowledge they are also stationed within sight.

So will be Newbury residents be paying most of the costs of their security, I doubt it!

[On the edge]

Ummm, the old practice excuse; always amuses me when Coppers who get caught well exceeding the speed limits in unmarked cars say they did it for practice.

And yes, even the local Police admit events in Bucklebury will need to be resourced in a small part from our local resource pool. Not really a complaint, just the same as they would for any other national target figure in a similar situation.

Strikes me, biggest fail here is a PR one, that both services are trying to make political points with the news stories.

[JeffG]

Judging by the no-fly zone that's been put in place, they will be there until 7th August.