Burnham-on-Sea RNLI complete November's training exercise ‘Octopussy’
The volunteer crew were put through their paces on 16 November with a scenario based training exercise (mock shout) which involved rescuing casualties from Burnham's lower lighthouse as the tide enveloped it. They also had to handle a first aid incident which blocked the jetty.
The training is designed to test the skills of all the station volunteers. The Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) received notification that for exercise purposes reports had been received of lights being spotted on Burnham's Lower Lighthouse and he was requested to launch the lifeboats to investigate. This set in motion the lifeboat and shore crew members getting changed as quickly as possible into the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), then marshalling traffic to enable the launch vehicles to be driven to the jetty.
The Beach Master (in charge of authorising launches at the water's edge and safety) had to deal with challenging conditions due to the high tide and waves on the jetty but a successful launch of the B class was achieved. However, due to a member of the shore crew (pretending) to fall and break their leg the D Class lifeboat Burnham Reach was unable to launch from the jetty. So with quick thinking the Beach Master despatched them to the alternate launch site at the sailing club.
The shore crew then had to deal with the first aid incident and had to use their recently refreshed first aid skills to fracture strap the casualty and get them into a stretcher to get them off the jetty.
Meanwhile the lifeboat crews had managed to get a crew member onto the lighthouse, with skilful boat handling, and on assessing the scene they discovered two cold casualties one of whom had a suspected broken leg. It was the turn for the lifeboat crews to use their first aid skills and to work out how to safely evacuate the casualties. Once all training had been complete it was time for the lifeboats to be returned to station for a full wash down and a full debrief.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Image with this release
Library pictures available on request.
Lifeboats in service at Burnham-on-Sea:
A 7.5m Atlantic 75 named Staines Whitfield and a smaller 4.95m D class IB1 inflatable named Burnham Reach. The station was opened officially on 15th May 2004, but has been operational since December 2003.
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