A Wight Carry On!
The Final Carry On
To all who were able to attend ‘The Final Carry On’ celebration party at the Ryde Castle Hotel on Saturday 8th October thank you so much for attending and contributing to a fantastic and poignant evening.
It was wonderful to see so many people there, particularly a large contingent from the Friends of St Mary’s to whom we were able to present a cheque for £12,400 as our half of the cost towards the TOE probe. We were also able to announce that with the Friends’ contribution to the probe, plus the extra target we set ourselves to procure two new ECG machines for the Coronary Care Unit; the total as of the 8th stands at just over £36,000!!!
At any time this would be a remarkable figure but to achieve it amid the current economic climate is testament to the generosity, enthusiasm, support and sheer hard work of so many people. As a fire station team work is our ethic but in the context of this objective we knew that this was one job that we couldn’t achieve as a stand alone service. We needed local business, influential local people, the grafters and doers and the generous support of the island’s public and it all came together and for that our sincere and unfettered gratitude is more than due to you all.
I should send specific thanks to the following for ‘The Final Carry On’; Sam Ade of Ryde Fire Station for arranging the venue, Emma at the Ryde Castle Hotel for allowing us to stage our event and covering the cost of the entertainment, June Ring of the D.R. Memorial Fund for her work and wit throughout the event and her inspiring words on Saturday night, Chief Fire Officer Paul Street for attending and speaking at the party, Watch Manager Kelvin Wright for sharing with us his emotive tales of ten days unbelievably demanding effort during the Cent Cols Challenge, Aidy Wellock of Ryde Fire Station for organising the IT issues and visual display and finally Lisa Fletcher for her strength, inspiration and humility and her willingness to not only be a part of the team but to literally get hands on and haul that ladder every step of the way.
Our final act of the AWCO/Cent Cols events shall come when we visit the Coronary Care Unit to formally hand over the TOE probe. I shall let you know more when we receive a date.
With the support of our Station Manager we are hopeful that the Big Red Ladder shall finally be rested in permanent display on the wall of Ryde Fire Station’s engine house… and there’s already whispering within the station of it being used again some day in a different kind of challenge, but for now I can’t dwell on that without my back beginning to ache!
Finally as co-ordinator of the event my personal thanks are due to everyone in the AWCO/Cent Cols family, you can’t co-ordinate without willing resources and you have all gone way above and beyond the call of duty and for that I am grateful beyond words.
Damon Corr
Ryde Fire Station
Editor's comment
I was pleased to attend this wonderful round up event, there was joy and a few tears. I was astounded at the amount raised, from the original target of £3,000 a 100% increase plus more!! It just shows how gernerous people are even during times of hardship.
The equipment that is being provided a transoesophogeal echocardiogram (TOE) is used to take an ultrasound of your heart using a special probe that scans the heart from inside your gullet (oesophagus). The ultrasound images of your heart are taken through the oesophagus. This gives better quality pictures of the heart. TOE looks at the heart chamber sizes, pumping action, valve appearance and function and the blood flow through the heart. It is also the best way of looking for clots within the heart.
This is a piece of lifesaving equipment as it can detect early heart problems. I think the island should be justly proud of what this fundraising activity has done for us.
A Wight Carry On they did it!
To all of our supporters; thank you so much once again for everything you have contributed that assisted us in achieving the 67 mile around the island ladder haul ‘A Wight Carry On’.
Its Sunday afternoon as I write and we are all feeling a little weary but otherwise on cloud nine especially having just counted our collection buckets and calculated the fantastic cash total of £3047.79! The overall total raised by all AWCO fund-raising initiatives shall be published when available.
The haul itself went very tight to plan; we hit every one of our check-points on time with one exception which was then made up by a great team effort in the next leg. The amount of support and encouragement we received on-route was second to none, a matter magnified during the final haul during Ryde carnival’s Main Procession where we were humbled to receive applause from many of those attending the carnival.
I will send you further information and some images from the two days later but for now this message is one of appreciation.
From all at Ryde Fire Station please accept our sincerest gratitude and best wishes.
Here is a link to some photos of the team at the Ryde Carnival on Saturday 20th August. A Wight Carry On
'A Wight Carry On' update 12th August
Final Training Session
I am pleased to report that the final training session went smoothly through the streets of Ryde yesterday evening and the fund is a further £321.27 better off due to more generosity shown by Ryde residents, holiday-makers and those passing through.
The carry handles, strengthened and repaired with the addition of impact dampers at the joints made a noticeable difference and enabled the hauling crews to maintain a steady and sufficient progress of 20 minutes per mile (despite starting at too fast a pace and having to be advised to ease off a bit for their own good!). Thanks are due to Andros Engineering and our own Technical Team for getting the ladder back on track after last weeks weld fracture.
Open Day
As I write preparations are being finalised for tomorrow's Open Day. Please come along and join us between 1pm - 5pm for what we are sure shall be a fun and interesting afternoon.
Those attending by car please be observant of the coned off areas and other instructions passed regarding parking as the need to maintain safe access and egress for fire appliances throughout the event must be observed. During the weekends Nicholson Road is fairly quiet as the most of the nearby traders are closed so please consider using space along the road as parking in or close to the station will be extremely limited.
Can anyone help?
On the evening of Friday 19 th we have been offered a late night feed of soup and bread by the Freshwater Bay House, a very kind and generous offer to help get us through the long haul along the military road. However we need some substantial thermos type vessels for the collection of the soup to take back to the Whale Chine car park ready for when the teams get there for feeding. Does anyone have or know of any items of sufficient capacity to transport and keep warm soup of twenty portions?
If anyone can assist please contact me using my mobile number below.
The Teams and those who have supported them
Thanks are due to several groups and individuals for the emergency cover they are providing at Ryde Fire Station throughout the event to permit the majority of the station’s operational personnel to form the ladder carrying teams. Special thanks goes to those RDS (retained duty system) members of the station that have committed to stay on-standby and to various members of both Red and Blue Watch from Newport Fire Station for giving up their own time to ensure that Ryde maintains its standard of emergency response.
It is this level of commitment that reminds me that the fire service is so much more than a job as everyone is pulling together and giving so much of themselves and their time. This effort has ensured that we have two strong ladder teams; you may recognise a name or two;
| Team 1 | Team 2 |
| 1 Captain Sam Ade 2 Deputy Kevin Beckett 3 Ross Smallcombe 4 James Flavell 5 Kirsten Moore 6 Kelvin Wright 7 Dave Lines 8 Mark Grimes 9 Lisa Fletcher 10 Paul Stone 11 Darren Bacon |
1 Captain Damon Corr 2 Deputy Kevin Pont 3 Dan Smith 4 Leon Marshall 5 Aden Thomson 6 Adrian Wellock 7 Steve Goodall 8 Mark Cooke 9 Dan Hayes 10 Andrew Hookey |
Piped In!
I am really pleased to report that the island’s top bagpiper Dr Kieron Cooney (often seen performing with the Wight Hot Pipes) has agreed to pipe the ladder haul back in to Ryde town centre at the end of the 67th mile. He will converge with us on Lind Street late on the afternoon of Saturday 20th and his stirring pipes shall herald our return down Union Street and along the Esplanade.
There has long been a traditional connection between brigades and the Celtic pipes but this is a first for Ryde Fire Station and hopefully it is the beginning of a relationship with Dr Cooney who has been extremely obliging and enthusiastic towards this event.
We are now very busy with final preparations and buzzing for the off and very much looking forward to getting the Big Red Ladder moving just seven days from now!
Thanks again to you all; we couldn’t have done it without the staggering level of support and encouragement we have received!
'A Wight Carry On' - update 5th August 2011
Words of Thanks
Firstly we need to spread some words of thanks;
- June Ring of the D.R.Memorial Fund has worked tirelessly to ensure that the teams hauling the ladder are catered for, in addition to committing her own time and effort to providing breakfast at Yarmouth Institute and lunch at Cowes Fire Station on Saturday 20th she has also arranged;
- Friday the 19th dinner meal provided by the Golden Sands Café on Ventnor Esplanade. Big thanks are due to Colin Flood for his endeavour and words of support.
- Friday the 19th nearly-midnight feast comprising soup and bread supplied by Freshwater Bay House; thanks again to Tony for his willingness to supply us at so late an hour of the day!
We are still attempting to source support for a Friday midday light lunch at Bembridge Fire Station and the final evening feed at Ryde Esplanade once we reach that point before the start of the carnival. If anyone has any contacts that may be willing to assist us at those locations please connect us.
And the training continues…
Once again the Big Red Ladder emerged from the station yesterday evening as a crew of eight hauled it 7.5 miles around the town and local area. The timings were good, keeping to just under 20 minutes per mile which is sufficient for us to keep to schedule if we maintain that pace during the real thing!
However the wear and tear will take its toll and I am now more convinced than ever that this is the most arduous challenge we have ever undertaken. But if it was easy it wouldn't be a challenge and we are ready for it and eager for the 19 th to arrive and to get the event moving.
Once again the people of Ryde made ad-hoc donations during the evening totalling a further two hundred and ninety eight pounds; incredible!
Event T-shirts
We have been extremely fortunate to have been supplied the event T-shirts, complete with sponsor logo printing, by Embroider-me of Union Street Ryde who covered all costs as their substantial commitment to our event. I have been made aware that some of the corporate sponsors have asked if it is possible to have a few T-shirts but I have to be honest in saying that we have barely enough for the competitors and fund-raisers during the event itself and whilst we greatly value your contributions if we were to repay that by giving out T-shirts we would very quickly find ourselves short of supplies during the challenge.
Our only option would be to buy more but for obvious reasons we are trying to keep our costs down to keep the funds up and after the great work that Embroider-me have already done I wouldn’t feel it appropriate to ask for more favours.
I hope that doesn’t disappoint; if people wish to order their own from Embroider-me I am sure they would be happy to oblige.
'Here to Help' – Ryde station on the telly!
A matter not directly connected to AWCO itself but nevertheless one of interest for the station is this Thursday 11th August's episode of 'Peter Andre – Here to Help' on ITV2 at 9pm.
One fairly routine Friday at the station a few weeks ago was suddenly transformed to an extraordinary day as the Aussie celebrity arrived in the town to assist our local inshore rescue volunteers to refurbish the roof of their station at Appley. They needed more hands on assistance so they suggested Peter try the local fire station. The deal was that if he did something for us we would supply the personnel to assist at the inshore rescue later in the day.
However rather than expecting him to toil over routine cleaning or maintenance we devised a very simple hose-reel drill for a crew of four including our newest recruit FF Andre. Hopefully the footage of the drill will make it on to the edited show and I apologise now for being the one with the big-mouth doing all the shouting!
I would like to reiterate our appreciation for the fantastic people at Ryde Inshore Rescue for allowing us to share their special occasion and for everything they have done to assist us with the AWCO challenge.
Stress Fracture!
Emergency repairs are required to the ladder carrying handles. Following yesterdays training an inspection of the carry handles identified a fracture of the weld in one corner of the handle to the front of the ladder (the heaviest part). As I write the AWCO Technical Team are unbolting the affected parts to hurry to Andros Engineering for modification ( Andros .. we’re on our way! ).
Whilst we accept feeling the personal aches and strains the last thing we need is a mechanical breakdown of the ladder itself so the plans are to bolster the existing handles with added supports to spread the load, it will add more weight but is absolutely necessary to ensure the integrity of the ladder.
The Penultimate Haul
Next Thursday evening sees the last of the training events so look out for us again after 1730 if you are in the Ryde area.
Where we will be during AWCO…
Several people have asked me where we will be at any given point during the AWCO event so that they may pop along to wish us well. If you take a look at the following page of our website http://www.rydefirestation.co.uk/index.php/our-route this will give you an idea of approximate times and locations. We’d be seriously impressed if anyone showed up to say hello during the middle of the night haul along the Military Road!
Know a willing celebrity?
We did have a couple of celeb’s lined up to do a short spell of ladder carrying to give us greater publicity but unfortunately they have both had to pull out due to other commitments. Do you rub shoulders with any premiership footballers, Olympic athletes or stars of the stage and screen that might be up for a short spell of ladder carrying? If so please sound them out and get in touch.
'A Wight Carry On' July 29th update…
Three weeks from today we will be in the early stages of the real thing!
With the clock ticking steadily the team stepped up the demands of the training yesterday evening. Due to operational commitments we cannot venture out of town when training so we have devised a set of routes that lead through and around the town to represent a typical leg of the AWCO route (with regard to distance and elevation).
Last night we scheduled a seven miler but in the end deviated and added another couple of miles before returning to the station a little fatigued but wiser in the mind and harder on the feet! Hauling the ladder up St Thomas Street and on up through the High Street was a challenging stretch; being at the front of the ladder with the added weight of the heel bar added to a touch of discomfort (I can comment from first-hand experience!).
There were a few sore muscles amongst us this morning but thankfully so far everyone’s feet seem to be hardening rather than blistering.
Amazingly and despite these training legs not being intended as fund-raising initiatives in their own right, the people of Ryde donated an incredible £284.17 as we passed their homes, businesses and cars. That’s a tremendous figure accompanied by incalculable expressions of support which spurred us on and affirms that the physical effort we are making is worth it.
I am also pleased to report that on many occasions people have been making a point to comment on and study our event T-shirts and remarking on the companies represented thereupon. I hope that those of you that supported us in buying some advertising space on the shirts will see a positive return.
Remember that on Friday August 19th the big event kicks off from Ryde’s Western Gardens (facing the bottom of Union Street ) at 10:00, and we would love to see as many of you there as can make it as we move off and begin the 67 miles.
Once again and on behalf of Ryde Fire Station may I pass our heartfelt thanks to you all for your support.
Ryde Fire Station 'A Wight Carry On' 19/20 August
We are now less than a month from the 'A Wight Carry On' event!
Training is stepping up a gear; in fact if you are in the Ryde area this evening from 1730 you may see a large contingent from the station carrying the Big Red Ladder over a trial course. Give us a wave and a cheer if you see us!
Fund-raising has gone well so far but we need to keep promoting the cause, please make all you know aware of the online giving facility found on our website www.rydefirestation.co.uk.
We have five new members at the station which are equally keen to join in the event in a support role or as a carrier. I will publish the names of all the station personnel involved in a further email, there may be someone you know in the teams! Equally important are those members of the station that have committed to providing continuous fire cover during the event, whilst these fire-fighters are missing out on direct involvement their commitment over and above the normal station requirement should be applauded and is vital in enabling those of us carrying the ladder to concentrate on the event itself.
I would also like to remind you of the Fire Station Open Day on August 13 th between 1300 - 1700. We are all working hard to put on displays both static and practical that we think will be interesting and exciting for people to watch, plus Jessica's Junior Fire Challenge and other peripheral activities. Again if any of you have an idea you would like to submit for consideration please contact me asap and we will accommodate whatever we reasonably can.
Finally thanks again to all of you for your vital support in so many ways. Damon Corr - Ryde Fire Station
Ryde Fire Station Open Day, Saturday 13th August 1300-1700
We are in the early stages of planning the first station open day in many years. With the fund-raising target at the forefront of our minds we are planning four hours of public access to the station where there shall be;
- Jessica’s Junior Fire Challenge - a remarkable young lady by the name of Jessica Morey offered to raise money for our fund by undertaking a junior fire-fighting challenge of our choice. The idea has snowballed and we are opening Jessica’s challenge to children of all ages (actual activities dependent on age of participants). Children can be sponsored to take part or fund-raising buckets will be available for those wishing just to turn up and have a go! See more about Jessica at her website http://jessica-morey.webs.com/
- Extrication rescue display; Ryde Fire Station’s team that will be representing the IOW Fire & Rescue Service at this years UKRO (United Kingdom Rescue Organisation) competition in September, will be carrying out a display of how to successfully rescue a trapped person from a vehicle wreck. Whilst the display highlights the use of the very latest in hydraulic cutting technology and a range of other state-of-the-art devices, none of the equipment used is specially prepared for competition use and is exactly what we respond with to any incident of this kind. This display represents a fantastic opportunity to witness the services’ forward planning in action and the development of new skills and techniques adopted by the Ryde crews with their second to none rescue hardware and 21 st century protective equipment.
- Rescue and fire-fighting displays shall be conducted by the station throughout the afternoon involving traditional ladder and hose deployment in a staged house-fire scenario utilising the on-site firehouse facilities.
- Static displays will enable station personnel to talk one-to-one with visitors, answering their questions about our role and the equipment we use.
- The Big Red Ladder will be on display accompanied by information explaining how ‘A Wight Carry On’ (which shall begin six days after the open day) shall be undertaken and completed.
Corporate sponsors; if you wish to be actively involved and have an idea… let me know asap!
Further ideas shall almost certainly develop over the course of the next few weeks… if you have any of your own please ask?
Media support; we are dependent on people knowing about the event for it to be a success, please forgive us but may we lean on you all once again to give us some exposure? I shall publish further details as the plan develops through these emails but please call me if you require further clarification.
Finally if you are in Ryde on a Tuesday or Thursday evening and happen to spot a group of forlorn looking fire-fighters staggering up and down the hills with a large ladder, give us a wave and shout ‘Hi’ and it will drive us on to continue the training preparation for Augusts’ 67 miles!
Ryde Fire Station ‘A Wight Carry On’ latest news update 13th May 2011
Trial success!
Sunday May 8th saw seven of Ryde’s fire-fighters undertake a trial run of the first leg of ‘A Wight Carry On’.
The objectives were two-fold; to provide a training opportunity in realistic conditions, also to check that the route timing calculations based on the time-honoured Naismith Rule were accurate, or not!
Wearing AWCO T-shirts and fire-fighting protective leggings with the ladder highlighted by the rigid banner provided by Essential Signs and Print of Rink Road Ryde, the team began the leg at Ryde’s Western Gardens at 0900. The team of six on the ladder followed by a safety/support vehicle made their way along the Esplanade, up East Hill Road, past Ryde Fire Station and out of town along Brading Road, turning in to Carpenters Road and proceeding through St Helens, around the harbour to Bembridge Fire Station.
The Naismith estimate of 156 minutes (2 hours 36 mins) was achieved with eight minutes to spare. This is a great result and a real confidence booster for the AWCO team! However the trial did prove that the challenge we have undertaken is considerable given that when we do the real event in August this seven and a half mile leg will be followed by a further 59 miles!
The hill climbs were challenging but manageable, arms ached from carrying and supporting the ladder more than the legs from the walking and it was proven that the pair at the front of the ladder, which is the heaviest part due to the heel bar and plumbing equipment, have a harder task than any other position. Accordingly we have developed a change-round routine implemented every twenty minutes that can be safely carried out without stopping and shares the load equally between all team members over the course of an hours walking.
The trial also attracted a number of ad-hoc donations from interested members of the public, particularly those attending the boot sale in St Helens, which was gratefully accepted.
The next step!
Dependent on operational priorities we are hopeful to have a full team to train for AWCO Leg 3 on the morning of Sunday 22nd May. This represents potentially the most challenging climbs as the route from Shanklin (the car park adjacent to the YMCA), past Shanklin station to Ventnor station, includes the undulating terrain of the Cowlease area where the elevation above mean sea level ranges from 30 to 160 metres (see the Ordnance Survey graphic below).
With an estimated leg time of 112 minutes this represents one of the shortest legs, but it will be interesting to see the results and hear the feedback from the participants regarding this arduous leg.
AWCO teams announced
The AWCO team selection has been carried out. From the eighteen individuals eager to take part it has been decided to create two dedicated carrying teams of six in each with the remainder forming an essential pool of contingency carriers!
Team 1 comprises; Ross Smallcombe, Kevin Beckett, James Flavell, Darren Bacon, Kirsten Moore and Sam Ade.
Team 2 comprises; Dan Smith, Leon Marshall, Aden Thomson, Kevin Pont, Damon Corr and Adrian Wellock.
Floating carriers; Kelvin Wright, Steve Goodall, Dave Lines, Andy Cave, Andy Cumpsty and Paul Stone.
Ryde Fire Station ‘A Wight Carry On’ latest news update 26th April 2011
Tesco Fund-raising Day, Good Friday
We are very pleased to report that our Tesco Fund-raising day resulted in an incredible £3000 being raised! This unpredictably round figure was achieved by £2644 of donations (which includes purchases of AWCO wristbands), plus £356 of raffle ticket sales.
We are indebted to Tesco and its staff for providing so much support, catering and allowing us such freedom to besiege their Ryde facility for what was a beautiful Good Friday which found people in good spirits with a great interest in what we were doing and trying to achieve.
We are equally grateful to Embroider-me of Union Street Ryde who came up trumps despite some considerable time constraints by supplying the event T-shirts which added to the professional and organised appearance of all who participated on the day. Additional thanks must go to our T-shirt sponsors, your generosity and assistance with logo’s made the T-shirts a reality, they will certainly be getting plenty of use between now and August!
Further news and photographs from the day can be seen here; http://www.rydefirestation.co.uk/index.php/35-a-staggering-3000-raised-at-tescos-ryde
We are hopeful to soon be able to release the name of a guest celebrity who shall be assisting us to carry the ladder for a short duration during the main event! Watch this space!
Our continued efforts would only be possible with the massive support and willingness we have received from both business and individuals of the Isle of Wight and to all of you we send our gratitude once again as we move a few days closer to the main event in August.
To all our sponsors, benefactors and supporters,
This is the first update to circulate from Ryde Fire Station's 2011 fund-raising event 'A Wight Carry On'. As event co-ordinator I felt it important to maintain contact with all of you who have assisted us in so many vital and varying ways with the project so far. I shall continue to send updates as the activities progress, you may also access our website at your leisure www.rydefirestation.co.uk.
The Big Red Ladder Comes to Life
On the morning of Saturday April 16th, the ladder in its eye-catching red livery applied by Ashey Road Garage came to life for the first training event. A crew of nine fire-fighters carried the ladder from the car park at the rear of Ryde’s Planet Ice, along the esplanade to Appley, around the park and back to the ice rink. Three completed circuits of this route equalled the 7.2 mile first leg of the actual event to kick-off on August 19th when we will begin at Ryde’s Western Gardens and follow the main roads through to Bembridge Fire Station.
Other than a few teething problems with the ladders carry system that will be ironed out by the Technical Team in the next week, the training was successful. Taking a pragmatic approach it also confirmed that we have set ourselves a considerable challenge considering that after what we achieved on Saturday there would be a further 59 miles to go!
If any of you were tuned in to Lucy Morgan's show on IoW Radio around ten o'clock Saturday morning you may have heard me interviewed in the middle of the training event. Speaking live on air whilst hauling the ladder was perhaps not the easiest thing to do but hopefully the broadcast helped to promote our quest.
None shall sleep
The AWCO event will involve as many members of the station, both whole-time and RDS, as we can muster. However we are of course an operational fire station and have a duty to maintain the emergency capability throughout the duration of AWCO. Working with our operational managers we have limited the numbers involved with AWCO to a figure that makes the challenge achievable and the station operationally effective. The effect has been to accept that for the duration of the event, from early in the morning of August 19th until its end on the evening of the 20th, there shall be no opportunities for sleep.. but what would an endurance event be with sleep anyway?
A Ryde Fire Station charity fund-raising event
On Friday 19th and Saturday 20th August 2011, fire-fighters based at Ryde Fire Station, shall be carrying a 13.5 metre ladder section from Ryde's Western Gardens, a total of 66.4 miles all the way round the island, touching base at each of the other fire stations in turn, before returning to Ryde on the Saturday evening to converge with the Ryde Carnival Main Procession and finish on the Esplanade.
Funds raised by the event shall be used to assist St Mary's Hospital, Coronary Care Unit, to buy essential life-saving heart disease diagnostic equipment in memory of our respected colleague Paul Fletcher who was sadly taken from us whilst responding to an incident on August 24th 2009 and suffered a fatal heart attack at just 39 years old.
Working in collaboration with the Friends of St Mary's and the D.R. Memorial Fund we are aiming to raise a total of at least £30,000 to purchase this vital early warning life saving equipment to be based at St Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight.
As the plans and training of the participating team gather pace you will be able to follow the progress at our website www.rydefirestation.co.uk (not yet online but imminent soon!).
Over the coming months with the assistance with local media and support, the event shall be heavily publicised by ourselves and the collaborative organisations.
Please assist us in any way you may be able, every contribution in the practical or monetary sense shall be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
From all the crew at Ryde Fire Station
Station contact number; 01983 817025
