May 16: Fire alarms

Wondering if there will be any more firm alarms today. Photo: Jacque Comery

Today we had our third fire alarm in two days. Winds have been gusting around the 50 knots and we have had sensors triggering alarms in different buildings. Our first alarm was in work hours, so we all scrambled from our workplaces, some people running from far away down the Isthmus.  The second had us jolted from sleep at 2230 hrs, diving into our pile of evacuation clothes that we all keep handy  in case we need to get our of our buildings quickly in the middle of the night.  Driving rain and howling winds had us all wide awake in no time.  Our latest alarm was right in the middle of me cooking smoko in the kitchen...and no I didn't set it off.
I usually hold the role of Incident Controller but today I was on BA 4. In a flash I whipped the eggs off the grill, shut down the stove and bain marie, and scampered to the Fire Hut, to gear up in turnout gear and await instructions from the Fire Chief.
Our fire team is comprised of 4 BA (breathing apparatus) units, a Chief, a BA controller, and a pump and hose team.  With only 13 of us here, that pretty much means that everyone on station turns out with a job.  After a week of firefighting training in Hobart, Tasmania before we left we are now trained to be self sufficient to respond to all alarms triggered down her.  There is no fire brigade to call on down here in the middle of the southern ocean, so we all take our fire team roles seriously.
The role of chief is rotated around three of the team, with the rest of the roles being allocated weekly. We hold training every fortnight to stay sharp, after all we are our own emergency response team.

Jac in turnout gear. Photo: Jacque Comery

My BA gear. Photo: Jacque Comery