Rash of blazes, RTC and animal rescue keeps firefighters busy

Mid Ulster firefighters have been kept on their toes, dealing with three fires, a serious road traffic accident, and an animal rescue over a two day stretch last week.

A woman, aged 71, and a 46-year-old man were rushed to hospital for treatment following a fire at a terraced house in Pomeroy last Tuesday.

Fire crews were called to Park View, Pomeroy just before noon, where they put the fire out using their hose reel and covering jets.

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Fire crews from Cookstown, Omagh and Pomeroy stations attended the incident.

The next day, firefighters from Dungannon responded to a road traffic collision involving two cars at Tullycullion Road, Donaghmore.

Crews used hydraulic cutting gear to release a 67-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man from a vehicle. Both casualties were taken to the Craigavon Area Hospital by ambulance.

On the same day, fire crews were despatched to deal with a fire at a terraced house at Lismore Drive, Donaghmore, Dungannon.

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A small fire in the living room was out on arrival after a smoke alarm alerted the occupier to the blaze. Firefighters inspected the premises for safety and said the cause of the fire appeared accidental.

Also on Tuesday fire crews were called to the scene of a fire involving a telescopic digger in the Sandholes area of Cookstown.

The incident took place just before 2.30pm on the Gortacar Road.

A Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service statement said: “NIFRS responded to a fire involving a telescopic digger at Gortacar Road, Sandholes, Cookstown.

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“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a compressed air foam jet to extinguish the fire.

“The cause of the fire appeared accidental.” Meanwhile, two calves died and a third was rescued after the small animals fell into a slurry tank at a farm on Rocktown Road in Carrickmore on Tuesday morning.

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service dispatched specialist animal rescue teams just after 9am on February 7, where they “used a gas monitor, slings, a grap pole and a telehandler to remove two dead calves and one live one from the slurry tank”.

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service is now recruiting for firefighters across Northern Ireland.

Gary Thompson, Chief Fire & Rescue Officer, said: “Being a firefighter is unlike any other job, it can be unpredictable, exciting and rewarding. No two days are the same.”