For just over 72 hours, SARA  provided the first response to all inland water incidents for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.  The Fire Service had requested our support, along with that of fire services from across England and of other volunteer organisations, as they were hugely stretched dealing with the extensive and persistent wildfires.

This has been a magnificent cross-station effort, in which boat teams from SARA stations at Newport, Beachley, Sharpness and Tewkesbury, supported by colleagues from SARA Cotswolds and Upton, have been based at Cardiff Gate Fire Station.  SARA had 1, often 2, boat teams available on site from 1700 on Thursday (13 Aug) through until being stood down at 1900 on Sunday (16th) evening.

This has released firefighters to deal with the many wildfire incidents across South Wales, whilst maintaining the statutory requirement to respond to rescue calls.  During this time the teams responded reports of one person in the water in Cardiff and another in Newport; both were resolved with everyone safe.

We are proud to stand up for the communities of South Wales, and we will remain on standby now that our formal tasking has concluded

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At around 6pm a team from SARA Wyre Forest Station was deployed to support West Midlands Fire, Police and Ambulances Services in their response to the major fire in Stourbridge.

The crew assisted in evacuating a care home and provided logistical support to the fire service.

Our thoughts go out to the community that have been affected by this tragic incident.

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Early this afternoon we were called out to help another injured climber at Wintours Leap, near the foot of the well-known climb ‘Zelda’, with an injured shoulder.  

We supported Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and a SWAST HART team at the casualty site and with the preparation of several extraction options.  At one point a rope rescue raise was proposed, and colleagues from SARA stations at Tewkesbury and Cotswolds were requested, and some duly attended.

However the rope option was more complicated than anticipated and the casualty was being well managed by HART, so in the end he was carried out to Lancaut by a combined Fire / SARA / HART team. We wish him a speedy recovery.

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SARA was requested to support Lowland Rescue Oxfordshire with a search in the Burford area.  Teams from SARA Stations at Sharpness, Tewkesbury and Cotswolds deployed on Saturday 8 Aug, and Tewkesbury and Cotswolds again on Sunday 9 Aug.  Our search was stood down on Sunday evening with nothing having been found, and the operation ongoing.  Sunday's search was our fifth of the weekend.

We were sad to learn that the body of the missing person was found later that week. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the person concerned.

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The SARA Beachley Team was called out around 1330 to assist Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) with the evacuation of an injured climber who had fallen at Wintours Leap.  Initially we were asked to provide a rope rescue capability, but before long GFRS instead requested a boat extraction.  Accordingly we stood down our rope & land team and launched our two lifeboats.

The tide was quite low, so we used our smaller SARA Lifeboat 7 to get a basket stretcher to the firefighters on the bank.  Our lifeboat crew then worked with fire to move the casualty down the mud to the lifeboat, along with one of the HART team paramedics.  Once safely aboard they were both transferred to the larger SARA Lifeboat 1, which conveyed them down the Wye and round to the Beachley slipway.

At Beachley a combined SARA and Chepstow Coastguard team took the casualty up the slipway to the waiting ambulance.  And then set about cleaning off all the mud.

Another good multi-agency and multi-discipline callout; many thanks to all who responded.  We wish the casualty a speedy recovery.

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As a SARA Sharpness Team was departing station for a search at Burford just before midday, an immediate request came from HM Coastguard to launch and assist with a person reported in the River Severn near Longney.

The crew diverted to the nearest launch point and began preparing to launch. They were shortly stood down after confirmation that the person was safely out of the water.

The team then continued to the original tasking.

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During the afternoon Gloucestershire Constabulary requested our help to search in and around a small lake at Walham area just north of Gloucester off Sandhurst Lane,.  Land search teams from SARA stations at Tewkesbury, Cotswolds and Beachley attended, along with a water search team from SARA Sharpness.  Many team members had already been on other callouts or fundraising events during the day.  Police and Fire search assets had also been involved.

After several hours of searching nothing had been found, so the search was stood down.  Many thanks to all who attended.

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