Firefighters called out to rescue people from floods

Fire crews have been rescuing people from flooding after storm Desmond battered the country with gales and heavy rain.

West Yorkshire Fire Service sent officers to help with a national response to serious flooding which hit parts of Lancashire and Cumbria the worst.

The Environment Agency had flood alerts in place for the rivers Aire, Calder and Spen yesterday and trains were delayed by the bad weather.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Steve Beckley, West Yorkshire’s deputy chief fire officer, said: “We received a call from the Fire and Rescue Service National Coordination Centre late Saturday afternoon asking for support in areas which have been hardest hit from the heavy rainfall, and we were of course happy to assist with our specialist crews and officers who are trained for such situations.

“Major flooding events often require a larger effort than the local area can deliver and this is all part of our national resilience role.

“Our crews stood up very quickly and we had three teams deployed with the ability to carry out water rescue within just a few hours.

“We also have our specialist Command Unit in Cumbria providing Enhanced Logistics Support.”