Thousands of people converged on 7 Lakes Country Park near Scunthorpe at the weekend to see 999 crews in action at the annual Rescue Day event on Saturday 13th July.
Teams from all the blue light services, plus highways, road recovery, rail and water rescue agencies worked together in a series of live demonstrations that saw visitors flock to watch them in action.
At lunchtime the famous Red Devils Parachute Display team performed a breath taking jump into clearwater lake in front of the gathered crowds, followed by a flotilla of rescue boats that collected them back to shore to meet members of the public.
After yet another successful event the organisers have already announced the date for Rescue Day 2020 to be Saturday 11th July.
The annual Rescue Day raises funds for charities and good causes and during the opening ceremony the organising committee presented several organisations with donations to support their vital work, including Scunthorpe Sea Cadets, International Rescue Corps, Humber Rescue, Pete Lewin Newfoundland Water Rescue & Therapy Dogs, York Rescue Boat & British Divers Marine Life Rescue team. Donations have also been made from last year’s proceeds to Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance and the Emma’s Wish charity.
The aim of the day is to raise awareness of the emergency services and charitable organisations and show the public what they do and how they work together. Families enjoyed the day with children and adults alike engaging with the many different exhibitors spreading messages about road, rail, water and fire safety. There was lots to have a go at including a mass CPR lesson which saw over 120 people simultaneously be taught how to perform chest compressions and on the lake side a session on how to rescue someone from the water took place. Other attractions included a climbing wall, a confined space tunnel and an ordnance disposal team robot.
Specialist Newfoundland water rescue dogs, plus K9 fire investigation and Humberside Police dogs all took part in various mock incidents showing how their skills can help the public. There were also visits from the popular Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance helicopter and The Children’s Air Ambulance made it’s first appearance this year at Rescue Day too.
Emergency crews from Humberside Fire & Rescue Service, East Midlands Ambulance Service, Humberside Police, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s regional Urban Search & Rescue team and British Transport Police all took part in a range of real life demonstrations, supported by Highways England, Network Rail, Gallows Wood Recovery and VolkerRail.
Crowds gathered to watch teams attend a rail crash, a house explosion, an aircraft incident, a protester removed from the top of a train carriage, a heavy goods vehicle tanker rollover recovery and much more.
Organisers were blessed with a fine and warm day that saw huge crowds enjoying this very popular annual event. Rescue Day Chair, Chris Long, said: “We’d like to thank all the 999 teams and organisations who took part, plus the volunteers, exhibitors, sponsors and our committee who make the day happen. Thank you to all the visitors who once again turned out in huge numbers to support our emergency services to make it a memorable family day.”
Photos and video clips from the day will be available at www.rescueday999.com and you can follow Rescue Day on social media on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.