TENSE NIGHT FOR STAND-IN CREWS; Three are rescued from house fire.Byline: Chris Beckett Chris Beckett is a British social worker, university lecturer, and science fiction author. He has written several textbooks, dozens of short stories, and two novels. Background and Sian HarrisSOUTH Wales' temporary fire service were glad for the rain and the public's help during a tense first night in charge. Stepping in to cover the first firefighters' strike in 25 years, the military and their fleet of Green Goddesses had a reasonably quiet night. More than 80 emergency calls came through to the service's command centre in Bridgend from the start of the strike at 6pm last night to 7am today. A police spokesman said: ``We are thankful for the heavy rain which should cut down the number of incidents we have to cope w i th .'' Police and paramedics from Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (mûr`thər tĭd`vĭl), town (1981 pop. 38,893) and county borough, 43 sq mi (111 sq km), S Wales. Located on the Taff River, the town is connected to Cardiff by canal. It has ironworks and steelworks. worked together with soldiers manning a Green Goddess to rescue three people from a house fire at 6am today. A 29-year-old woman who was in the house in Alma Street, Dowlais, at the time of the bedroom blaze, was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation Smoke Inhalation Definition Smoke inhalation is breathing in the harmful gases, vapors, and particulate matter contained in smoke. Description Smoke inhalation typically occurs in victims or firefighters caught in structural fires. . Green Goddess crews wearing breathing apparatus then put out the fire which is thought to have been caused by burning candles. Exactly 12 hours earlier and just two minutes before the 60 Merthyr members of the FBU FBU Fire Brigades Union FBU Fast Binding Update FBU Franc Burundais (national currency) FBU Federal Benefits Unit (Social Security, Medicare) FBU Faciliteiten Bedrijf Utrecht were preparing to walk out, the fire officers went to their last call-out to a car fire on the Asda slip road, Dowlais. Driver Michael Parry had dialled 999 after a fault on his car caused it to catch fire. The fire had been extinguished by the firefighters when the Green Goddess arrived. Of the 84 calls made, 13 required the deployment of Green Goddesses. Staff at the command centre in Bridgend were grateful that, unlike other parts of the country, few hoax Hoax Balloon Hoax, The news story in 1844, reporting the transatlantic crossing of a balloon with eight passengers. [Am. Lit.: The Balloon Hoax in Poe] Piltdown man missing link turned out to be orangutan. [Br. Hist. calls were reported. A police spokesman said: ``We have only received five hoax calls and we are appealing for the public to continue to act sensibly.'' A military spokesman said ``As far as we are concerned we have responded to the incidents we have needed to in the most professional way possible.'' CAPTION(S): EMERGENCY COVER A Green Goddess crew arrive at the scene of a car fire in Merthyr while, below, the regular fire crew went on their last call-out minutes before the strike was due to start. PICTURES: Simon Ridgway |
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