BY KEN HARCOMBE -Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Fleetwood RNLI
WE ARE THE RNLI THE CHARITY THAT SAVES LIVES AT SEA
police in Lost and Missing Person Searches (L&MPS), and are DEFRA recognised for Flood Rescue Response.
National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Tower
There are over 350 Coastguard stations in the UK, forming the Coastguard Rescue Service, all manned by volunteers, with four in Lancashire, at Morecambe, Lytham St Annes, Knott End and Fleetwood. In fact, Fleetwood is the recognised receiving port for the eastern part of the Irish Sea, should a major incident occur and all casualties would be processed through Fleetwood RNLI lifeboat station, by the Coastguard, before being handed over to other agencies. The Coastguard have a vast array of equipment at their disposal to help with searches, including an Argocat, an eightwheel drive tracked vehicle for mud rescues, helicopters and fixed winged ‘planes. They even have two jet-skis at Arnside, at the top end of Morecambe Bay ! In 2019, Fleetwood CG was the busiest Coastguard station in the UK, with 285 callouts. 2021 was considerably busier. Multi-agency rescues are vital in some instances. For example, if there is a missing person or boat, it would be impossible for two or even three lifeboats to search such a large area, especially when time is critical. This is where the Coastguard’s fleet of helicopters and fixed wing ‘planes are called to assist as they can help cover large areas of both land and sea, quickly.
The RNLI quite rightly has a world class reputation for its search and rescue operations and having done so for nearly 200 years, is fully aware of the importance of working as a team. Not only does that include our volunteer crew members, both afloat and shore based, but equally as important, our search and rescue (SAR) partners.
with our SAR partners, we actually share the same building. Having a close working relationship means there is very little panic when an emergency arises and both teams have confidence in each other’s skills and knowledge.
he RNLI works very closely with HM Coastguard in particular and indeed, it’s the Coastguard that requests the RNLI to launch, should people find themselves in difficulties at sea or on the coast. 999 is generally a number associated with the Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade, but the Coastguard is the fourth emergency service that can be reached by this number, should people be in danger at the coast or on the sea.
‘HM Coastguard is one of the Primary Search and Rescue organisations and operate from 10 Maritime Rescue CoOrdination Centres (MRCC’s) around the UK 24/7. along with the Police. The Police obviously have responsibility for landbased searches and the Coastguard for maritime searches. Both organisations can call upon other agencies for assistance, be that the RNLI, Fire Service, or ambulance.’
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At Fleetwood, not only do we work closely
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But what area of rescue does each organisation cover? Mark Sumner, Coastguard Station Officer at Fleetwood explains.
Equally as important, once casualties are returned to port, it is often critical that they receive immediate medical attention by the experts. Paramedics are sometimes called upon to meet a lifeboat and they are generally assisted by the Coastguard. A good example of a multi-agency rescue occurred in 2016. Two young girls, out riding across the sands at Knott End, suddenly found themselves in difficulty, when the horses sank to their stomachs in mud. The dramatic scene was witnessed by volunteers at Fleetwood RNLI, who happened to be at the lifeboat station at the time. They were requested to launch by the Coastguard and as the rescue was anticipated, the RNLI in-
National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Tower
All Coastguard Rescue Teams are trained to operate for coastal searches, alongside
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