Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service - Notable Incidents

Notable Incidents

• Torrey Canyon disaster, 18 March 1967:

This incident saw possibly the largest fire brigade attendance in UK history: 78 different brigades (with over 200 appliances, 147 of which responded from London Fire Brigade) and 38 different military units spread detergent and pumped out contaminated water. The cleanup lasted months and the brigades stayed on-site throughout working 24/7. Cornwall Fire Brigade set up a workshop near the Lizard to maintain the appliances on-site whilst refilling them and portable pumps with petrol. In the height of the operation over 1,600 personnel were on scene.

• Falmouth dock fire, 18 January 2003:

A fire broke out at the Queens Wharf dock and spanned 360 ft; the dock was well alight. 11 appliances attended as well as a fireboat, which surveyed the situation from the bay.

• Boscastle flooding, 16 August 2004:

The first call came into Fire Control in Truro at 16:00 to report a person trapped in a car with the water rising. At 17:30 a major incident was declared and search and rescue helicopters from RNAS Culdrose along with other helicopters throughout the Southwest assisted the fire brigade and Coastguard in evacuating people. 25 appliances attended the scene along with a further 22 for relief purposes. Although the brigade could not do anything with regards to the pumping out of water they assisted searching for persons trapped in their cars and homes and helped bring them to safety via the RNAS search and rescue helicopter. The brigade also carried out salvage work once the water had receded. The brigade were in attendance for a number of days with nearly the whole of the brigades pumping resources in attendance as either first response or as a relief crew.

• Penhallow Hotel Disaster, 18 August 2007:

The first 999 call was received at 00:17; crews from Newquay were first on scene and requested further appliances to attend. The fire consumed all three floors of the hotel and three people died at the scene. 25 appliances attended with support appliances; Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service also provided a turntable ladder, officers and USAR assistance. The cause of the fire is believed to be arson, but no one has been charged. As of the outcome to the incident questions were raised over the retained staffing levels at Newquay fire station and the brigades lack of operational aerial ladder platforms.

• Athena Ship Fire, 27 October 2010:

The Fish Factory ship the Athena caught fire 230 miles of the southwest coast of the isles of Scilly. 98 of the 111 crew were forced to abandon ship into the life rafts; these were picked up by the container ship the Vega. The Athena was then taken under tow to Falmouth Bay, where Cornwall Fire and Rescue's MIRG (Marine Incident Response Group) was then flown out by helicopter to the ship. Once on board, they started to fight the fire in the hold of the ship which contained around 600,000 cardboard boxes. However, in the early hours of the morning they were forced to evacuate after carbon monoxide levels reached a dangerous level; a couple of firefighters were taken to hospital. The ship is now in control of a salvage team who are finding the best outcome for the ship.

• South Coast Flooding, 17 November 2010:

During the night and the early hours of the 16/17 November torrential rain hit the south coast of Cornwall, the ground became saturated and water began to run off of the surrounding fields into the already overflowing rivers causing many to burst their banks. The worst places hit by the storm were Mevagissey, Lostwithiel, The Glynn Valley, St.Blazey, Portloe, St.Austell and Pentewan. Many places saw 3 to 4 feet of water flooding hundreds of homes and shops and causing landslides. Cornwall FRS deployed appliances to the worst-hit areas to pump out shops, roads and homes and to assist with salvage work. Around midday Devon and Cornwall police declared the scenes a Major Incident. There were no casualties.

• A+P Falmouth Docks Fire, 17 June 2011:

At around 8:00 am a worker was changing over an acetylene cylinder when the tank began to vent and ignited; this in turn ignited other venting tanks. On arrival of the brigade a 300 m cordon was put in place which required surrounding houses and the docks to be evacuated. The brigade extinguished the initial fire but then had to cool the cylinders constantly for 24 hours to prevent the cylinders from exploding due to the heat and pressure buildup. In total Cornwall FRS sent 6 pumping appliances, 1 command support unit, 1 operational support unit, 1 welfare vehicle. The incident lasted for 24 hours and required numerous relief crews to attend overnight.