The horrors of the Grenfell Tower fire in London more than six years ago left images that have scarred our national psyche.
At around 1am on June 14, 2016, a fire broke out in the 23-storey building that would ultimately lead to 72 people losing their lives. In the aftermath, UK and local government officials scrambled to try and fix the problems that had left those in Grenfell without adequate support.
Questions were also asked of the fire service response, with emergency departments across the UK looking to ensure this would never happen again.
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Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) was among those to look again at its capacity to deal with major incidents in terms of its risk methodology and associated capabilities. Fires in large buildings were identified as one of the six high impact incident types that MFRS should focus on.
With that in mind, the service made a commitment to procure a 45m Aerial Appliance to be based at City Centre Community Fire Station on St Anne Street. The location was chosen due to its close proximity to the city centre which is densely populated with high rise buildings.
At more than three quarters of a million pounds, the combined platform lift (CPL) is a serious bit of kit. The fire service took delivery of the new appliance last week and invited the ECHO to be the first to test it out.
Before getting the new CPL, MFRS had in possession four other lifts with the capacity to reach 28 and 34m respectively. Chief Fire Officer Phil Garrigan joined the ECHO aboard the new lift to explain its capabilities.
In real terms, Chief Garrigan said the 11 extra metres the CPL can provide make the difference in being able to reach an additional three to four storeys when attending major incidents. Aerial appliances are used as a water tower and are also used for the rescue of persons from high rise properties or incidents below ground level, such as docks.
The new CPL is one of the largest in the UK, with a 64m tall turntable ladder in use for the London Fire Service. MFRS’ new ladder was parked up ready to go outside the St Anne Street for inspection last Monday afternoon.
It’s a tall and imposing vehicle, decked out in the traditional red livery we all identify with the fire service. Taking the ECHO up with Chief Garrigan was firefighter Jemma Hughes.
Jemma and her colleagues strapped everyone in with harnesses, into a cab that can hold around five people. It’s also kitted out with attachments to allow firefighters to equip hoses to the ladder before they start their ascent.
As the CPL begins to move upward, slowly at first, it is taken up by a firefighter sitting at operations attached to the engine itself. At a certain height, Jemma takes over with the help of a special readout in the cab that lets officers know where they’re at in relation to the building they’re either looking to reach or duck down to.
After a steady climb, we reached 40m, which on paper didn’t feel as high as having the Liver Building at eye level actually feels. Had it not been for wind, Jemma told us we’d be able to make the extra five metre distance.
Back on terra firma, it’s clear the officers at St Anne Street value the importance of the new ladder. That didn’t stop them having some fun with a potential new name for the engine.
As the ECHO left, ‘Big Bertha’ had become this most important vehicle’s designation.
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