Hero emergency workers and volunteers who helped save lives at sea and tackled raging wildfires over the summer were praised by Andy Burnham at a special Downing Street event
Hero emergency workers and volunteers who helped save lives at sea and tackled raging wildfires over the summer were praised by Andy Burnham at a special Downing Street event on Monday.
Jubilant guests said they felt like they were on a “film set” after being welcomed into the sunny No10 garden for drinks, canapés and socialising.
They praised communities coming together during challenging times, but also said it was vital frontline services have the resources they need to plan for future emergencies.
In a speech at the reception, Mr Burnham pledged to boost Britain’s resilience, telling guests they were not “invisible” to him and that he would quip them to deal with the changing climate. He pledged to learn the lessons of a summer when record temperatures sparked wildfires across the country and caused the deaths of an estimated 2,977 people in May and June alone.
Mr Burnham said: “The climate is changing. I don’t think anybody here today is going to say otherwise. The change in the world is going to test everybody, and it’s my responsibility to equip you all.”
PM vows to build community resilience and back emergency services
He continued: “My commitment to you is not to let what we lived through just go past. I will make sure that we build resilience up from the ground level.” The PM, who was Greater Manchester mayor until being re-elected to Parliament recently, added: “I will commit to you today as Prime Minister to support our community and voluntary sector across the country.
“From my former role, I can say to you all: you are not invisible to me. I see what you do and I appreciate what you do. But also, our emergency services – fire, ambulance, police – my job is to ensure that we continue to do everything we can to equip you to deal with a changing world, and we will.”
Attendees included those from fire and rescue services, St John Ambulance, the RNLI, mountain rescue as well as other charitable and emergency services. Lorelle Tolley, station commander at West Midlands’s Fire Service and who introduced Mr Burnham at the event, said the fires in Stourbridge that destroyed 19 homes in August were “nothing like anything that I’ve experienced before in 20 years” working in the service.
She praised her “unbelievably resilient” before celebrating how communities came together during the tough summer, saying: “I think something that we’ve learned over the summer in this unprecedented response that we’ve had to put out there is how communities have really gathered together. And how people have just pulled together against adversity.
“It’s been, been so difficult, but an amazing thing to have been part of and it makes me incredibly proud to be part of the fire service. My colleagues are unbelievably resilient.”
‘Climate change is going to have a huge impact’
Lee Coleman, from Greater Manchester’s Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), echoed that this summer was “unprecedented” for crews. He added: “Obviously, climatic change has had a huge impact on the ways that we’re working… Our crews have worked absolutely tirelessly throughout the summer.”
He continued: “We need to start thinking about what pressures are coming into the services, because climate change is going to have a huge impact on the type of incidents that we will be attending. There’s a lot of conversations at the moment about what’s next and what do we need to do. How do we plan for the future? Do we have the right resources, the right people, and resilience within the country?”
David Whitmore, who is part of Derby Mountain Rescue Team, which worked with GMFRS on battling wildfires in on Tintwistle moor and at Dovestone Reservoir, said he spent 24 days at Tinwhistle. He said he and his colleague slept in their van so they could get their drones out at 4am to observe the wildfires.
Asked how it feels to be in No10, he said: “I feel very privileged to be able to do mountain rescue, but also to be here, because it’s not just myself and my other colleagues here. Behind all of these incidents are literally hundreds of volunteers, and hundreds of firefighters.”
St John Ambulance volunteer reveals relentless heatwave pressure on NHS crews
Selina Taylor, a member of St John’s Ambulance service, said volunteers helped to provide additional support to NHS ambulance crews during the “relentless” heatwaves. Asked about this summer’s conditions, she told The Mirror: “It just seemed to be relentless. It was one heatwave almost into the next heatwave, and into the next heatwave.”
Asked how it felt to be in the Downing Street garden, Ms Taylor, who serves at South Western Ambulance Service, added: “You see it on television all the time, and to actually be (here), it’s almost like you’re on some sort of film set.
“It’s a huge privilege, and looking around at the number and the different range of charities and organisations, seeing people’s badges and everything, it’s really is amazing to just to be part of it, I guess, and just the recognition of what has been an exceptional summer of demand on our services.”
John McAleese, a member of the RNLI in Portaferry, Northern Ireland, said he and all his colleagues had been affected by tragedies in the water this summer. The Mirror’s Save Lives for Sam campaign, which is backed by the RNLI, is urging the Government to take urgent action on drowning across the country. It includes a demand for compulsory lessons in schools on water safety, including on the RNLI ‘Float to Live’ instructions.
He said: “When you read the statistics and you hear about people getting into trouble, it is very sad… and you know that vast majority of people who drown could be prevented.” He added: “Although in Northern Ireland we fortunately didn’t have many fatalities, but we’re all with one big crew at the RNLI… Those tragedies do affect us all.”
