On Saturday, 18th July, Crawley Happy Times had the pleasure of attending the Emergency Services Open Day held at the Fire Station in Crawley.  And what an amazing day it was!  We were greeted by young police cadets who all volunteered for the day’s supervision of the visitors.  Then into the main hub, (which usually holds the Fire Engines), neatly laid out with happy smiling members of each emergency services eager to give advice, freebies and just have a chat.

First we encountered the two lovely ladies from Crawley Borough Council who were giving advice on crime prevention and giving away some wonderful tools such as UV Pens and Bicycle Identity Tags.  The ladies were also  promoting some fantastic events happening in Crawley over the coming months (please see events page for further info).  Our thanks go to Beverly Loxton from the Community and Promotion Services and Trish Emmans, Community Safety Support Officer, for the goodies and information they provided.

Then it was off to gawp at the large, vibrant ambulance which dominated the corner, looked after by Nigel Martin, Ambulance Technician and Seamus Higgins, First Responder from the South East Coast Ambulance Service.  I asked Nigel what advice he could give me should I be sitting at traffic lights when an ambulance with flashing lights approaches from behind. Nigel said “the best thing to do is to move safely to the side of the road, not to panic, and let the ambulance guide you if you are unsure”.  I also asked what a driver should do if they are traveling on a usual roadway.  Nigel said “indicate, pull over to the side of the road and stay stationary until the ambulance has passed, then indicate back on to the road and continue your journey safely”.

Nigel mentioned the worst thing a driver could do is slow down, rather than stop, as this may hinder them from tackling obstacles up ahead. 

Next we had the greatest pleasure of speaking to Tracy Stocke, Senior Crime Scene Investigator, who was helping visitors with their questions alongside her colleague Stephanie Griffiths.  It was very exciting to speak to Tracy (I am a great fan of CSI).  Tracy explained how the job is not quite as ‘romantic’ as depicted in the series and it was in fact really hard work, although I definitely got the impression from Tracy and Stephanie they thoroughly enjoyed their roles and performed then extremely well.

The event was blessed with sunshine (even though it rained much later in the day) and everyone had a great time. We spoke to Gary & Michelle who were there with their son Jake, who was approaching his second birthday. Both Gary & Michelle said they had enjoyed the day immensely and Jake was having a great time.  Their only gripe was the lack of seating for young Jake to eat his chips.  We agree with this statement and approached Sergeant Darren Taylor about this later in the day.

Sergeant Taylor said “we are considering moving the event to the old bowling alley car park next year, which should help with this problem”.  Sgt Taylor (of seven years’ service), is the brains behind the whole event and deserves a massive pat on the back for his efforts (with a little help from his colleagues and the other services of course).  Sgt Taylor proudly looked on the festivities alongside Sgt Jen Miller (eight and a half years service), who was slightly confused about her name as this was her first offical day as a married woman!  Congratulations Sergeant Miller.

Below you will see the interviews from Firefighter Tim Taylor, who is the newest recruit to Crawley (4/5 months’ service), Firefighter Tim Schwaiger who was kitted up to show the weighty outfits our firefighters endure, and last but not least, Pete Martin, District Commander Crawley. 

There was so much noise and excitement generated by the visitors that our camera may not have picked up the sound very well on the interviews.  We are about to invest into a more up-to-date system, so this will not happen in the future.  It’s all about learning as we go