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In the early evening of 16 August, eight volunteers from the fire and emergency support service (FESS) began a marathon 13-hour call-out at York Road in Belfast, where scores of residents had been displaced by the rising water.
Practical advice
Anna said: “We provided temporary residence in the FESS vehicle for the worst affected, and handed out food, hot drinks and hygiene packs. Some people had run from their houses without essential medication, so we went back and retrieved it where necessary.
“Importantly, we also gave practical advice and handed out booklets signposting people to other useful organisations, since some families had been made completely homeless and would be needing urgent assistance.”
Around midnight, the volunteer team moved on to a nearby rest centre where they spent ten hours providing food and drink, support and toilet facilities for 50 people, including firefighters.
Warm support
Volunteers turned out again the following day (17 August) to offer support at the multi-million pound Westlink underpass, which only opened last month and had become submerged under 20 foot of floodwater. Firefighters had already been working round the clock at the incident for 18 hours when the FESS team arrived, bringing hot food and drinks and a warm, dry place to rest between shifts.
Anna said: “The firefighters were terribly pleased to see us, as were staff at the rest centre who congratulated us on a job well done. On the whole, I think our volunteers were very good and responded excellently under difficult conditions.”
Fire and emergency support service
Volunteer for the fire and emergency support service
Fire prevention and safety
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