LATEST NEWS news archive
ALWAYS READY TO HELP
Local resident Beryl Spurrier (85yrs old) and her granddaughter Heather Spurrier came into the station to present the crew with some chocolates and a cheque to Chiswick RNLI for £50. On the 17th October at 2pm Beryl was assisted to the station by a passer by who had seen her fall over onto her face on the path outside the Lifeboat Station. She was bleeding quite badly so lifeboat crew Andy Mayo, Mark Finnis and Jon Keenes (who is a paramedic) assessed the injuries, applied first aid and called an ambulance. Her granddaughter was so pleased with the assistance the crew had provided that she arranged a visit to the station to meet them and express their gratitude.
LIFEBOAT CREW INVESTIGATE SUBMERGED CAR
On
Monday 4th August 2008 at 1910 hrs Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat was launched
to investigate reports of a 3 persons and a car in the river at
Isleworth near the London Apprentice Public House. The lifeboat arrived
on scene to find a blue Vauxhall Corsa in the river. Also on scene were
police and ambulance crews. Two anglers who had seen the car drive into
the river had jumped into the water to save the female driver, hence the
original call to three persons in the river.
At the request of the police, Lifeboat Crew-member Craig Burn entered the water to check there was no baby seat in the submerged vehicle. Once it was established that all persons were accounted for, the crew secured the vehicle to the embankment wall. Helmsman Paul Harrison said “We are often called out to cars driven into the river accidentally or, as in this case, deliberately. It is always essential to check there is no one trapped and prevent the vehicle becoming a danger to navigation”
FORESHORE RESCUE
On
Tuesday afternoon 27th May Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat was mooring up at its
jetty on Chiswick pier after an exercise in Richmond when London
Coastguard radioed “Chiswick Immediate”. Helmsman Mark
Turrrell immediately proceeded at full speed to the foreshore just north
of Fulham football ground where a man had fallen 20 feet onto the
foreshore. He had sustained a number of cuts and bruises and an open
fracture of the humerus. With a fall from that height possible spinal
injury was also a major concern. The Air Ambulance had also arrived. The
lifeboat crew worked with the helicopter paramedics applying dressings
and oxygen. Once the casualty was stabilised and on a stretcher the team
transferred the casualty into the helicopter. He was then taken to
hospital. Mark Turrell said “The joint efforts of the air ambulance
and lifeboat crews were essential in this incident as there is no access
to the foreshore from the land side in this location”.
LONDON TO PARIS ROWING CHALLENGE
Chiswick lifeboat crew Steve East completed the rowing race from Westminster to the Eiffel Tower on the 9th May. He was in one of two teams racing in Thames cutters. For race details, reports and pictures follow the link:
http://london2parisrowing.com/2008/news/
CHISWICK CREW MEMBERS SUPPORT MEMORIAL TO PAST HEROES
Fundraising for the memorial is being organised by the RNLI Heritage Trust. The RNLI’s normal fundraising has to be used for search and rescue activities. The RNLI Heritage trust is a separate charity, which has to raise its own funds. The crew at Chiswick Lifeboat Station have enthusiastically pitched in to help the fundraising effort for the memorial, donating a day's pay or their attendance allowance to this fund.
Further information is on the RNLI main website.
RNLI LAUNCHES TRIAL OF SAFETY SIGNAGE
Following
concerns about tragedies suffered by water users who are unfamiliar with
local dangers, the RNLI has started a trial of safety signs to be put up
at popular launching sites and beaches.One of the trial sites is at Putney Embankment in the stretch patrolled by the RNLI Lifeboat from Chiswick. Station manager Wayne Bellamy has been involved with the development of the scheme with the team at RNLI headquarters in Poole, the local authority, the PLA and major river users.
This project is dedicated to the memory of Ryan Pitney, who died tragically in June 2004 at a beach in Cornwall. Ryan was 4 years old.
Ryan drowned doing one of those things he loved the most: playing by the water. That day, there were no warnings seen by Ryan's mother informing her that the water could be dangerous. "If only we had known, I would have been much more aware and cautious. I hope these new signs prevent other families going through the same thing as we have. The more places that take up the new signage standard, the less Ryan's death was in vain."
FOUR CHILDREN RESCUED
At
10.55 on Sunday 21 January Chiswick RNLI lifeboat was called to assist a
motor cruiser that had gone aground off Crabtree Wharf in Fulham.During the passage to the scene the lifeboat’s starboard engine started to missfire and blow smoke from the exhaust. The lifeboat continued on one engine as it was near the casualty vessel. Helmsman Glen Munroe said “One crewman was placed aboard to determine our options. As there were two adults and four small children on board (aged 2,4,6 and 8) it was decided that the it was best to evacuate the boat while the lifeboat could still some alongside. Once beached the cruiser’s engine would have to be stopped and the occupants would have soon become very cold”
The faulty engine was used to maintain position in the falling tide, once all were aboard the lifeboat the three crew and six passengers returned to Chiswick pier on one engine. The family were taken ashore and the duty Lifeboat switched with the relief boat.
The crew returned to the scene some hours later with the replacement lifeboat to recover the vessel once it was floating on the flood tide. The lifeboat towed the cruiser back to Chiswick Pier where the owners recovered their boat and continued their passage
CHISWICK LIFEBOAT IN MAJOR EXERCISE
On Wednesday morning 1st November Chiswick Lifeboat was a key participant in an exercise to test the effectiveness of the Thames search and rescue services in a major river incident.
‘Passenger craft Salamander was ‘sinking’. There were 100 passengers on board the stricken vessel and 25 were in the water. The casualties were all volunteers and those in the water were dummies. The Coastguard tasked the rescue boats coming up-river to search for the ‘bodies’ which were drifting downstream on the ebb tide. Chiswick RNLI lifeboat started the evacuation of the Salamander. Within a three minutes of arrival on scene the first 15 ‘survivors’ were on the lifeboat on their way back to Chelsea Harbour pier. Chiswick lifeboat evacuated a further 15 people and was then tasked to join the search downstream while the police fire and PLA vessels continued with the evacuation. An RAF helicopter winched dummies from the deck of the Salamander. Casualties were taken to the shore and passed into the care of the London Ambulance Service who had established a major incident centre to triage the ‘survivors’.
After the exercise Wayne Bellamy, manager of Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat Station said. “We were pleased with the response from all the services and the rapid evacuation of all the people on the Salamander. This was the first major exercise since the RNLI Lifeboats and the Coastguard service started on the Thames five years ago. The exercise proved its worth by demonstrating the effectiveness of the emergency services and revealing some things that would be done differently next time”.
The exercise was designed to test LESLP (London Emergency Services Liaison Panel) procedures as applied to a major incident on the River Thames. The panel ensures a partnership approach between all the relevant agencies in the planning for, and the response to, a major incident of whatever kind.
CHISWICK LIFEBOAT RESCUES 500th CASUALTY
At 16.37 on Wednesday 12th April 2006 the lifeboat responded to a report of a collision between a 2 man rowing boat and a buoy in Syon Reach. When the lifeboat arrived both rowers, Steve Dixon and George Turner, had managed to clamber onto the buoy and were holding onto their boat. In the collision, Steve Dixon had received a heavy blow to the back of the ribcage and was finding it painful to breathe; both were suffering from the cold. The lifeboat crew transferred the rowers into the lifeboat, gave them blankets and dressed the injured man’s open wound. RNLI helmsman Neil Roberts said “After they were safely in the lifeboat the two rowers were in high spirits and delighted to be the 499th and 500th people rescued by Chiswick Lifeboat.”
After dropping off the boat and one of the rowers at Tideway Scullers rowing club, the injured man was returned to Chiswick and transferred to a waiting ambulance. He is expected to make a full recovery. The two rowers are medical students in their third year at Kings College London.
Chiswick RNLI lifeboat became operational on the 2nd January 2002. Since then it has responded to over 880 emergency calls. The four Thames lifeboats together have responded to over 2000 calls.
RANGE ROVER BEATEN BY THE TIDE
At 22.10 on Monday 13th March 2006 Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat was out on a training exercise when the crew saw a vehicle stuck on the foreshore near Chiswick Eyot.
An unfortunate soul (and his girlfriend) thought it would be a bit of fun to explore the foreshore of the Thames in a new Range Rover Sport. They hadn't accounted for a mud pool or the rising tide. Some residents of nearby houseboats were concerned that the rising tide would sweep the vehicle onto their moorings. They tried vainly to dig out the Range Rover, now up to its axles. The driver was trying to phone a friend to try to arrange a JCB, - it never arrived. The fire brigade attended but did not have equipment to free the vehicle. Eventually the police persuaded the couple to leave the Range Rover before it was submerged.
After ensuring that all on the foreshore were safe the lifeboat crew tied a fender to the vehicle as a marker and secured it to the bank to stop it drifting. Overnight, the vehicle was completely submerged. In the morning the PLA decided that the waterlogged hulk was a hazard to navigation and used their driftwood crane to remove it during the next high tide.
UNMANNED “TUG” TOWED IN BY CHISWICK LIFEBOAT
At 20.50 on Monday 2nd January 2006 Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat was called to investigate reports of a person screaming by the river in Bishops Park, Fulham.
After searching fruitlessly for half an hour the crew were stood down by the coastguard. While making their way back upstream, they came upon a vessel showing lights but apparently not under control. They discovered an unmanned tugboat, with navigation lights but with a propeller fouled by weed. Helmsman Alan Hudson said “We considering using the towline but decided it would be easier to recover the vessel into the lifeboat as it was all of 24 inches long.”
The radio controlled tug is now safely in the crew room at Chiswick Lifeboat with a clean propeller. Alan Hudson presumed “The tug must have been someone’s Christmas present which the tide swept away when its propeller got fouled” The crew will be happy to return the model boat to its owner if they can contact the station on 020 8995 5534
Chiswick Crewman reaches OZ in Round the World Race
Chiswick lifeboat crewman Andy Butler
arrived in Freemantle just before Christmas after completing 14,500
miles of the
Clipper 2005/6 Round the World Yacht Race.
After a thrilling race to the finish his boat just failed to make first place. After a 2 month tour of Australia and New Zealand Andy will be rejoining the crew in Chiswick. Andy has raised over £8,000 for the RNLI and Cancer Research.
TEAMWORK SAVES BABY FROM CHILLY THAMES
At 12.26 on Monday 12th December 2005 Chiswick RNLI Lifeboat was called to Wandsworth Reach.
A couple were crossing a pontoon on their way to their houseboat when their 18 month old baby managed to get out of his pushchair and fell into the river. The father dived in and grabbed the child. The mother got their small dinghy going but in trying to retrieve the two in the water, she also fell in. Some building workers dialled 999 and informed the coastguard. He put out an immediate call to Chiswick Lifeboat and the other emergency services. The river Police were patrolling nearby and its crew were able to pull the family out of the water. The lifeboat arrived a couple of minutes later and the crew treated the baby and father for Hypothermia and administered oxygen. London Ambulance Service paramedics then took the baby to hospital. It is understood that the casualties are expected to make a full recovery.
Chiswick RNLI Branch opens
The Chiswick branch welcomes new members. For information contact Richard Millar on 020 8995 7021