At 16:15 this afternoon, NWAS (Manchester) ECC directly contacted our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE for the team’s assistance with an incident in Prestwich.

A casualty was reported in woodlands in the Prestwich area in the general vicinity of Broughton Fire Station, but it was unclear where exactly the casualty was, and NWAS (Manchester) ECC wished to mobilise the team in case a search was required and also given the woodland location.

In liaison with NWAS ECC it was decided that an initial RVP for responding resources would be in the vicinity of GMFRS Broughton Fire Station.

At 16:18 a full team call out message was paged, and as our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE and fellow very experienced team member Steve Fletcher were already present at our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ an immediate team vehicle response was possible.

Just as our first Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance was departing and a second Land Rover MR Ambulance was about to depart our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ, NWAS (Manchester) ECC contacted our Team Leader directly to stand down the team as the casualty had been located and the location did not now require mountain rescue involvement.

A full team stand down page was made at 16:25, by which time at least fifteen team members were responding to the RVP adjacent GMFRS Broughton Fire Station, including two of our Team vehicles.

Co-incidentally just after our Team Leader had received the initial call from NWAS ECC he was contacted by team member Chris Greenhalgh on an unrelated team operational matter, Chris was on duty at the time as a GMFRS Firefighter at Broughton Fire Station, and he was informed of the call out and that the RVP was adjacent his Fire Station.

Chris via his Watch Manager immediately kindly made provision for responding team members to assemble within the Fire Station yard / car park, though with the stand down this facility was not required.

Chris also offered to our Team Leader his expert local area knowledge given he works as a Firefighter within the incident area concerned.

(Such arrangements are a reflection of how the statutory emergency services in Greater Manchester co-operate very closely with mountain rescue)

This request for the team’s services is recorded here for information and interest only, and does not feature in our ‘Incident Listings.’