I remember hearing some strange stories about firemen but recollections were vague so I did a little research ........emphasis on 'a little'. A story I heard of was of a Fire Station burning down. There has been a surprising number. I dismissed the ones relating to arson because the firemen couldn't be responsible in any way. No good, only hopeless cases are allowed.....
We have to look to Germany of all places for supreme incompetence in the fire department (assume all puns are intended unless otherwise stated). This particular fire station (crew?) had history. The Syke Fire station in North Germany had burnt down in 1994 losing all six of its fire engines.
On January 11th 2009 the firemen of Syke had a training exercise. The station burnt to the ground a second time and fire-fighters from neighbouring cities were called in. It took nearly 250 firemen to extinguish the blaze, so large had it become. Due to the quick response of other fire stations only the vehicle bay and all of the fire fighting equipment was destroyed. The kitchen, offices, and lounges were saved.
"A fire service that can't even keep its own fire station and engines safe doesn't exactly inspire confidence" said one local.
One of my favourite stories comes from Italy and involves a lion. This story gives a whole new slant on lions and Christians in Italy. Lions are deemed the kings of the jungle but there was nothing regal about our lion. In 1970 a lion escaped from a circus in Italy. Inevitably the lion found a little boy and gave chase. Nothing wrong so far. The problem for our lion however was that the little boy's mother was on hand and attacked the unfortunate beast, badly mauling it in the process. The lion received severe head and skin injuries, and had to have treatment for shock!So what is the connection between felines and firemen, I hear you ask.....
I remember as a kid we had three tv channels. One was ITV and they had their own news slot. ITN in their infinite wisdom decided at the end of every news broadcast they would use a little humour. They called this 'and finally....' Unfortunately some Brits lack a certain amount of humour when it comes to poor dumb animals.
My favourite 'and finally......' was perhaps the most least popular judging by the number of complaints received afterwards. Now, am I being cruel or was this genuinely funny?
During the firemen's strike of 1978 the British Army took over firefighting responsibilities. The bright red fire-trucks were replaced by the 'Green Goddesses' of the military. One of the first calls they received was on 14th January from an elderly lady whose cat was stuck up a tree.
The troops arrived in impressive time and effected the rescue without a problem. So impressed was the lady she made them all tea and biscuits. Fond farewells were bade and the Green Goddess promptly pulled away running over the cat and killing it.
