Poole lifeboat crews respond to fire at West Quay Road and a Kite surfer
Poole lifeboat volunteers were just leaving the station after a busy morning with a visit and coffee morning when they saw thick black smoke and flames billowing from the Arthur Bray Yard on West Quay Road.
The lifeboat crew scrambled and got to work on the West Quay Road, bridge junction in their high Vis jackets, rerouting the traffic as the fire engines began to arrive on scene. The Atlantic 85 was then tasked just before 3pm to help evacuate people that were trapped in another quay side building, alongside the fire on the waterside.
The crew arrived on scene and transferred the first 4 people on board and administered first aid, the smoke was acrid and was billowing out, and was being whipped up by the strong southerly wind.
Oxygen was administered to one of the casualties and an ambulance was requested to attend as the lifeboat took the casualties back to the station and handed them over to the care of the shore crew who continued administrating first aid until the ambulance arrived.
The lifeboat then returned swiftly under the bridge to the quayside and evacuated a further 3 people as the fireman were fighting the fire.
The lifeboat returned back to station, the casualties went ashore and were checked out by the ambulance crew who had arrive on scene.
The lifeboat returned to the quayside to standby to make sure that there were no more people in or around the buildings that required evacuating, water side until the fire had been brought under control.
The police arrived on scene and took over the road marshalling as the lifeboat was made ready for service, the crew returned to the boat house then another tasking came through.
The UK coastguard had received a report that a kite surfer had got into difficulty off Salterns Marina, the lifeboat made good speed and found a person in the water with his kite sail just by the side of Salterns Marina.
The crew picked him up with his equipment and checked that he was okay, there was a slight breeze, and the water was choppy.
The lifeboat had a look for his board in the vicinity but could not find it and advised the harbour authority and Coastguard that the board was unaccounted for, they then took the casualty back to Evening Hill and returned back to the station.
The lifeboat was ready for service by 5.30pm.
Volunteer Helm Jonathan Clark said;
‘Yet another busy day for the crew and a bit close to home, but everyone ended up safe and well’.
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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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