All casualties saved at Littlehampton mock blaze exercise

Friends enjoying themselves, a few drinks and music playing in the background.

Suddenly, what was a happy evening turned into a nightmare, as smoke poured from a window and a young woman appeared on the balcony, screaming for help to the passers-by below.

Within minutes firefighters were on the scene – and once more, an incident which could have developed into a tragedy was dealt with expertly and professionally.

On this occasion, much to the relief of those watching from the street, the drama was not real life, but an exercise to test out the response from fire crews to a specific incident in a difficult location.

About 20 firefighters from Littlehampton were called out to the “blaze” in a flat above the Laura May’s Cafe in Surrey Street, with assessors watching their every move.

The scenario involved a group of five volunteers, portraying a band of revellers, at a small house party inside the flat, which is normally unoccupied.

As the fire crews arrived, one woman, Tasha Scott, was on the balcony, screaming for help, with smoke billowing from the window behind her.

Two others, trapped on the top floor of the building, also began crying for help.

Firefighters, some equipped with breathing apparatus, were quick to assess the scene and attempted a daring ladder rescue of Tasha, before bringing in more equipment to rescue and tend to the two volunteers trapped on the top floor.

Two more party-goers were rescued by crews from the back of the property.

Littlehampton watch manager, Niall Cooper, who was one of the safety assessors during the exercise, said: “Exercises like this are crucial to help further the training of our officers.

“It helps to test our skills in a real-life situation. From this we can learn from our mistakes, both big and small, and ensure that when a real incident occurs, our officers are completely prepared for every situation.

“But we couldn’t do exercises like this without the support of the public, and in this case, of Laura May, who allowed us to use the properties above her café.”

Niall added that none of the firefighters directly involved in the mock rescue was informed of the specifics of the exercise.

He said: “We wanted to test how the officer in command would react to a tricky and difficult situation.

“We made the rescue deliberately awkward for them. We had parked a car opposite the building, meaning they couldn’t pull up next to the café.

“Also, the fact that there is a balcony with fairly high protective railing, helps to add a whole new element to the rescue.

“Smoke machines were used inside to reduce the visibility within the flat.”

The evening’s exercise was also a test for the new uniform changes that have been introduced to firefighters across the county, this week.

“The helmet’s shape and design has changed slightly,” said Niall. “The uniforms also have altered knee padding which provides us with more mobility than before.

“We also have different gloves that can be used in the event of a road traffic collision.”

The exercise finished shortly after 9pm with all “casualties” safely rescued.