Incidents 2010 (09, 08, 07, 06, 05)
February 26th 14.10, Moreland near Penrith. 2 hours.
The team was called by Penrith MRT to assist with a search for an elderly man missing in the village of Moreland. 8 members responded in cold wet and wintery conditions to assist the search begun earlier by police and local residents. The missing man man turned up safe and well a little after 16.00 hours, having spent the day locked in a property adjacent to his own.
January 12th, B6276 at Hellbeck Fell. 3 hours
This was almost a carbon copy of the call out on the 30th of December. This time 13 team members responded to a request from the police, timed at 20.40, to rescue 5 people in 3 cars trapped in drifting snow and high winds at the high point of the Brough to Middleton in Teesdale road. This was despite the fact that the road was signed closed. Teesdale MRT were also called out. After reaching the vehicles it was decided that the passengers would be carried out in Teesdale team Landrovers as the road access was easier from the north. The remaining vehicles and road were checked to ensure that everyone had been evacuated and the team stood down.
January 12th. Great Asby, I hour.
5 team members answered a selective call at 2.40am to assist an ambulance in difficulty on a snow covered farm road close to Great Asby. When they reached the scene the ambulance had been recovered with the help of a farm tractor.
January 6th - 9th.
Over this period the team answered three requests for help with transport as result of the very difficult snow conditions.
1) 6th - Delivering meals on wheels over snow covered roads in Kirkby Stephen area. Two team members involved.
2) 6th - At request of Ambulance service the a team member collected a man and his wife from a snow bound cottage and delivered to hospital transport.
3) 9th - At the request of the ambulance service 3 team members in a team Landrover collected and transported a lady from her home in the Shap area to a nursing home in Appleby.
January 5th, Little Asby. 1.40 Hours
The team were called out to recover an unconcious man near the village of Little Asby. 14 team members responded. The man was treated at the scene and then carried to an Air Ambulance for transport to hospital.
January 3rd South Stainmore. 1.50 hours
11 team members responded to a call to Bleathgill, South Stainmore. A lady with an urgent medical condition required urgent transport to hospital. Ambulance vehicles couldn't drive the snow covered roads to the remote farmhouse. The lady was put onto a team stretcher in a casualty bag for warmth and carried by team Landrover back to KSMRTbase, where she was transferred to a waiting ambulance.
January 1st; Mallerstang. 1.5 hours.
While the team was covering the 9 Standards fell race a call came from the police asking for help in recovering an elderly lady from a snowbound cottage in the Mallerstang Valley. 12 teams members responded and reached the cottage. The 80 year old Lady was well but unable to negotiate the the steep and very slippery descent to the road. The team placed her in a Casualty Bag for warmth and sledged her down on a stretcher to join her family. The group had been celebrating New Year at the holiday cottage
News
WaterRescue
The recent floods have highlighted Cumbria's vulnerability to extreme weather events. In response KSMRT is increasing its number of trained Swift Water technicians from 4 to 12 and providing the extra specialised equipment needed to carry out search and rescue in floods. This is a big commitment as, apart from the training cost, the equipment for each technician will cost in excess of £400.
KSMRT Winter Skills Training
Between callouts the team has taken the opportunity of the sustained period of very wintry weather to hone its winter skills. Hard winter conditions require specialised equipment and techniques if rescuers are are to be safe on callouts in any conditions day or night.
A very busy night for KSMRT
KIrkby Stephen MRT responded to 3 callouts on the evening of the 30th of December. All the incidents involved vehicles trapped by deep wind blown snowdrifts on high Pennine Roads. In the most serious incident 40 people were stranded on the highpoint of the B6276 between Brough and Middleton in Teesdale. Most of the people were able to drive out to the North in 4 wheel drive vehicles after being assisted by the team. 2 people were evacuated by RAF helicopter and 4 vehicles were left abandoned.
The other incidents occured on Tailbridge Hill where two vehicles were abandoned and a family with young children were helped to safety.
KSMRT team leader, Arthur Littlefair stressed that these roads become impassable very quickly. "It is really important that motorists are not tempted to use these roads when the A66 is closed by winter weather. These roads are high and very vunerable to drifting snow. In this case quick action by the police; our team; the RAF with support from Penrith and Teesdale MRTs prevented a much more serious outcome."
Read more on the 2009 Incident page
KSMRT welcome a new team member
Geoff Osborne has been elected to join the team as a full member. Geoff, a Technical Sales Consultant, has successfully completed the teams 1 year induction programme.
Floods in Cumbria
KSMR Team were involved in the massive efforts to help the regions of Cumbria devasted by the floods of the 19th and 20th of November. Team members were based at Keswick MR helping with searches and checks on residents in flooded properties. This support for the central teams lasted some 15 hours. The team remained on stand-by until Wednesday the 21st of November.
Events 2010
April 3rd & 4th - KSMRT Open Days
KSMRT will hold open days on the 3rd and 4th of April, during the Kirkby Stephen Vehicle Rally. The base will be open to the public with refreshments available.
High Cup Nick Fell Race - 27th February
The team will provide Fell Cover for the High Cup Nick Fell Race for a second year.
January 1st 2010
As usual KSMRT provided fell safety cover for the Nine Standards Fell Race on New Years Day 2010. Deep snow and icy paths made the race very challenging. It was won easily by Morgan Donnelly of Dufton - a member of Borrowdale Fell Runners.
Collection at Kirkby Stephen Co-op
The team had a very successful collection at the Co-op supermarket on the 30th of December. Over £600 was raised to help the team operate. Just as the collection finished the team were called out to rescue a number of motorists trapped in their cars in snowdrifts on high Pennine roads - see Incidents 09
KSMRT Hill Safety and Navigation Workshops
We plan further introductory and advanced workshops in 2010. For further details contact webmaster.
