Cumbria Emergency Services Open Day

This afternoon my children and I spent over 4 hours at the Cumbria and South Lakeland Emergency Services Day in Kendal. This was the first time such an event had taken place and it included everyone from the the South Lakeland area involved in emergency services:

• Cumbria Fire brigade
• Cumbria Police
• Northwest Ambulance Service
• Kendal Mountain Rescue
• Bay Search and Rescue
• The Environment Agency
• The Great North Air Ambulance were unfortunately called to an incident and so were absent

It was a chance to see what these services do both individually and together and to get hands on with some of their equipment and vehicles. With the unseasonal weather it was a great family event to go to. My daughter loved the climbing wall provided by the Fire brigade though she wasn't too impressed at having to be rescued by a fireman as she was too light on one of the ascents (after she got stuck they started weighing kids to confirm they were over 40lb which she was just!):

The first demonstration was of a Road Traffic Collision between 2 cars. There were 3 people "trapped' in the cars including a reporter from Lakeland Radio. The police, fire service and ambulance crews acted as if it was a real crash and even went as far as taking the roof off one car to extract the driver and passenger:

Then we had a chance to wander round and see what else was on offer. My son loved the police table manned by PC Bill (he knew him from nursery visits) and got to try on various bits of uniform and pick up riot gear:

We then re-located to the bank of the River Kent for the river rescue demo. One lucky volunteer was floating in the river waiting for a combined team of Fire, Mountain Rescue and Bay Search to come and save him. There was also the "member of the public" who jumped in to help and needed rescuing and the dummy canoeist stuck on the rocks. Luckily for the rescuers for once the river was low and not flowing too fast:

Whilst waiting for the last demo my son had a lovely time trying out the vintage fire engine complete with a proper original bell.

For the final demo the fire brigade used their training tower to rescue the delectable Paulina from the 5th floor. This needed the crew from a fire engine plus a special cage ladder to get "her" from the top floor.

It was really good to see the kind of things that these paid and volunteer services do for us as a community. There were also plenty of messages as to how we can keep ourselves safe so that we don't need to make use of them including:

• driving safely (seat belts, no mobiles, keeping speed down)
• having working smoke alarms - yes I have gone and bought a new battery!
• closing doors at bedtime
• having an escape plan for whole family

Should I worry?

I have never been one to imagine that there are paedophiles hiding behind every corner just waiting to pounce on my children. The street we are now living in is a quiet cul de sac and in the summer most of us are happy for our children to play outside with only light supervision. It is a very relaxing place to be.


However, yesterday one of my neighbours had a quiet word with me as we took our children into nursery. Apparently another neighbour had observed a man from the estate over the railway line observing our road with binoculars. He had also been seen digging holes on the railway embankment. They have reported him to the police who have apparently "had words" with him.


Today when I drove home I could see the police round at his house talking to him again. So is he just a local eccentric and doing something harmless if weird? Or should I be concerned and make sure my kids don't go wandering around without me being close to their side? It's shaken up my sense of calm and relaxation so I just hope it is nothing to worry about.