Lightning Strikes

[fireman 11,487]

My old dad was a ministry fireman for nigh on 50 years and he once had a go on a ejector seat tower,the old fella sure did see and was involved in some rum old do's in his working life but he said by far the most frighting thing was when he went on the seat tower and only went on it once.

[paulus 26]

My old dad was a ministry fireman for nigh on 50 years and he once had a go on a ejector seat tower,the old fella sure did see and was involved in some rum old do's in his working life but he said by far the most frighting thing was when he went on the seat tower and only went on it once.

back in 1987 i was sat at the lights at the end of the runway at gutersloh, a harrier took off piloted by a canadian exchange pilot. there was low cloud that day, i watched him power into the clouds and the next thing i saw it hitting the ground upside down with pilot ejecting into the ground from about 50ft just before the plane made contact with the ground, the plane disintigrated apart from the engine that went through the side of a local farmhouse causing the farmers wife to suffer a heart attack. i was part of the crashgaurd untill the wreakage was recoverd, we searched for his body first, when a piece was found a pole with a flouresent marker on the top was stuck into the ground, so the bits could be collected, the biggest piece found was inside his helmet. standing at the river looking over the land all you could see was orange markers. i was in bits when his mrs and kids turned up with a wreath, i wouldnt have wanted to be the man who told them where to place it. before leaving i was given a flight in a T bird, To be honest i wouldn`t do that job for all the tea in china, your body would be knackered after a few years, they all deserve a medal just for getting in the bloody things everyday.

[fireman 11,487]

My old man was fire chief at Boscombe Down then at Farnbourgh as the DO and he had some funny stories to tell of bodies,one of which i'll tell you now.

A plane had crashed out in some fields and the crew had all been killed and some what burnt,my old mans crew were across the fields in there 6x6 fire engines and had sorted the fire etc out before the local crew turned up and had to park at the road,now my old man went across to them as the chief as told them it's now a drill,he and his crew aren't here and they had to act like it was still on fire.The local crew kitted up full BA etc then ran across and picked up the two dummy corpes that were lying there,well one fella done about 10 yrds then the arm came off his "not so dummy corpse" and the poor fella threw up inside his BA ,a bit wicked but when you face death so often either risking your life or pulling out bodies you have to look at it not only in a morbid way or your'll go mad.