It took a group of Wandsworth firefighters over six hours to pull a fire engine for almost seven miles across London in a bid to raise money for the charities that helped their injured colleagues.

In January whilst attending a large fire in some flats in Wandsworth, four firefighters from Wandsworth Fire Station’s Green Watch received serious burns. Thankfully they are all now on the road to recovery but their rehabilitation has been greatly helped by the staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and the Fire Fighters Charity.

Colleagues of the injured firefighters organised the fire engine pull to raise money for the Fire Fighters Charity and Children’s Burns Trust which is based at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. They pulled the fire engine on Saturday between the two hospitals that treated the firefighters – the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Fulham Road and St George’s Hospital in Tooting.

Wandsworth Fire Station’s Green Watch Manager, Winston Douglas, who organised the event, had said that this was :

".. a fitting tribute to our colleagues who were injured. It will also be a way to say thank you to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and the Fire Fighters Charity, which have both amazing in supporting them during their recovery.”

 

Just how heavy is a fire engine?

The fire engine the firefighters will pull weighs 13.5 tonnes which is roughly the same weight as:

 

• Three fully grown African elephants
• 17 x the weight of the England rugby pack
• 165 firefighters
• More than £1.3 million in pound coins

September 20, 2011