RSPCA WASTE MORE PUBLIC FUNDS ON RIDICULOUS RESCUE
Several newspapers reported the “farce” of 25 firefighters rushing to the scene at Carshalton Ponds in the south London borough of Sutton only for it to be deemed too dangerous for them to enter the waist-deep water.
However, the brigade’s response to the incident suggests the accounts have been wide of the truth.
It says that from a fire and rescue point of view the incident was a false alarm and was declared dealt with after just four minutes.
“The brigade was called to the scene by the RSPCA as an emergency and the brigade always takes calls from such organisations seriously. Firefighters arrived on the scene at 2.07pm and the incident was declared over at 2.11pm,” a statement on the brigade’s website states.
It continues: “The RSPCA called us out as an emergency. Our firefighters rushed to the scene only to realise they’d been called out to a seagull with a plastic bag round its leg which was swimming around quite happily and wasn’t in any distress.
“This clearly wasn’t an emergency so the firefighters left it to a local animal rescue charity to deal with and swiftly left the scene.
“Often, by the time our firefighters arrive at an incident, someone has waded in to try and rescue an animal only to get into danger themselves, so we send enough crews to deal with whatever we may find. The safety of the public and our firefighters is always our priority.
“Firefighters were not stopped from entering the water due to health and safety protocols.
“Just this week, LFB crews were called to rescue a man after the bulldozer he was driving fell 40 feet down into a quarry pit. When they realised the man’s life was at risk, the firefighters acted outside of normal procedures and risked their own personal safety to lift him out and save his life.
“London Fire Brigade’s firefighters are trained to make difficult judgement calls about when it is right to risk their lives in order to save another.”
http://www.london24.com/news/london_fire_brigade_says_seagull_rescue_health_and_safety_danger_reports_are_wrong_1_1348200
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