A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ...
...Ronnie Younger (Station Officer)
"Another sunny day on the Ayrshire coast - what a difference from yesterdays rain! Time to cut the grass and do what everyone else tends to do on a Sunday - get ready for the start of another busy week at work. This week has been the busiest I've had all year. We have a major resin paving contract to complete due to the weather being forecast to be good. A quiet night in front of the TV I think, but first, i'll cut the grass and then collect the better half from a charity lunch in Glasgow before she cooks a delicious Sunday dinner.
Grass is cut and I am just leaving for Glasgow when ...BEEP BEEP BEEP!...My pager goes off. It's 1530hrs, and a major search is required for a missing person. As the station officer it's my job to take control of the incident from HM Coastguards part to play, and I have tasked two search teams comprised of members from my own station and a flank station. It's up to me to coordinate on scene and request any other resources that I may require. The lifeboat has been called out too. The weather is hot and a constant thought of the team's welfare is always running through your mind.
The teams have searched extensively without success of finding the person, and other emergency services are standing down but I want to re-cover the ground to be 100% sure of probably detection. The time 2030hrs, standing down now, no stone has been left unturned without a trace and the teams are exhausted.
Time for dinner, but it's too late to head to Glasgow, it'll need to be a ready meal tonight. Fortunately my other half understands that I might not show or have to cancel at the last minute. After having dinner and writing up the report its time to finally relax in front of the TV before an early night.
2315hrs time for bed....2330hrs PAGER goes again....this time it's a boat taking on water and sinking! Shouldn't be too long with this one, it's in the harbour....0230hrs....standing down and heading to bed before an early rise for work at 0600hrs! You never know when the next search or rescue job will happen. I ponder this thought before drifting to sleep."
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