This afternoon the team received its first call out activation by Greater Manchester Police utilising the SARCALL system, via pager to all team members, with simultaneous text and email messages to our Call Out contact group.

We already receive call out activations from Lancashire Constabulary via SARCALL, with this call today representing the historic first time that GMP have used it to call us out operationally since GMP went ‘live’ with SARCALL recently.

At 15.36hrs GMP contacted the team via SARCALL regards a possible missing person search in the vicinity of Rivington Barn, Lever Park.

The call was answered by our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE who liaised with the on duty GMP Force Duty Officer to obtain further information, resulting in the intention of Garry to meet a responding GMP Missing Person Search Manager at Rivington, and in the interim place the Bolton MRT membership on standby for a possible search operation.

At this early stage, one team member was already en route to our GMFRS Bolton Central Fire Station garage to collect our Incident Control Vehicle, with another member immediately available to collect any other team vehicle required at this early stage.

The person involved was located safely by a Police patrol initially sent to the area, being found actually during the telephone briefing call between our Team Leader and the GMP Force Duty Officer.

At 15.48hrs the team membership was paged with the news that the team would not be required.

This call from Greater Manchester Police is recorded here for information and interest purposes only and does not feature in our incident listings.