Operations

Unlike most coastal stations, which operate on pagers, Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat is manned 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Each 12 hour shift has a crew of 3. The helmsman and mechanic are normally full time, the third crewmember is normally a volunteer.

The volunteers have a wide variety of "day jobs" including Journalists, TV producers, IT specialists, helicopter ground crew, policemen, firemen and paramedics.

RNLI Lifeboat crew assist paramedics, air ambulance doctors and the police attending to a casualty on the foreshore

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There is frequently close cooperation with the other emergency services

The Lifeboat assists the Fire Brigade checking for any embers after damping down a boat fire

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency requires attendance at an incident within 15 minutes. This means the crew have 90 seconds from the time of the call to launch from Chiswick Pier. The Coastguard coordinate rescues on the Thames from a control centre in Woolwich.