Fire strikers accused in road crash drama

A 50-year-old man suffered a heart attack while trapped in his car after a head-on crash on the A689, at Windlestone Hall, near Rushyford, County Durham.

Paramedics resuscitated him at the scene, and troops struggled to release him from his vehicle while firefighters in Darlington stayed on their picket line.

George Herbert, chief fire officer for Darlington and County Durham, criticised the striking firefighters.

The nearest station, in Newton Aycliffe, was deserted, so firefighters at Darlington were alerted by the police. But Mr Herbert said they refused to attend.

Meanwhile, a retained firefighter, who was passing the accident scene, made arrangements for two retained crews from Spennymoor to take over the rescue operation, which lasted about an hour.

Mr Herbert said: "While I have to acknowledge their right to strike, I am disappointed that they took the decision not to assist in a life-threatening situation."

But firefighters on the picket line at Darlington defended their actions. One man, who did not want to be named, said: "We did not refuse to go. We referred the police to fire headquarters to get the nearest crew to see if they would attend. Everything has to go through control, and control did not come back to us."

He added: "Rushyford is not our area. We have had instructions from above about responding while we are on strike, and we are not always covered by insurance covering other areas.

"Some of us are on our rota day off but are still on the picket line. That means we are not all insured to get on an engine."

Brian Boyle, brigade secretary for the Fire Brigades Union in Durham and Darlington, supported the men's stance. He said that brigade guidelines confirmed that men who were technically off duty were not insured to attend incidents.

Mr Boyle said it was the responsibility of the brigade to provide adequate cover during strikes and that Mr Herbert's comments suggested he was not confident in the abilities of the Army.

He said: "For him to suggest that he is disappointed I find quite astonishing."

Troops arrived at the scene of the accident, which involved two cars, within seven minutes of being alerted. A Green Goddess from Newton Aycliffe, and military rescue equipment and breathing apparatus teams attended, along with four ambulances and the Great North Air Ambulance.

Two occupants, one from each car, were released quickly. A man suffering from neck and back injuries and a 35-year-old woman with chest and facial injuries were transferred to Darlington Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

A 50-year-old man was trapped in his car, which had run into a ditch, for about 50 minutes when his heart stopped.

Paramedics resuscitated him, and when he was freed by the retained firefighters he was taken by air ambulance to Middlesbrough General Hospital. He suffered a broken femur and serious head and chest injuries.

A woman trapped in the other car was released and taken by ambulance to Darlington with leg injuries.

Captain Mike Bryant, of the 40th Regiment Royal Artillery, said it was impossible to say if the operation would have been different if the fire service was not on strike.

He said: "The accident itself was particularly nasty and it was quite a difficult situation.

"I can't say if we would have been quicker or slower if the regular fire crews had been involved."

It was otherwise a relatively trouble-free weekend for troops.

The Army was called to a mattress fire at Durham Prison's women's centre yesterday, which resulted in one woman being taken to the University Hospital of North Durham suffering from smoke inhalation.

Troops spent Saturday night and part of yesterday dealing with a barn fire in Gateshead.

The Fire Brigade Union is due to meet Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott today for talks in an effort to break the deadlock in the row over pay.

But union leaders warned last night that more strikes would be called unless the Government changed its position.