A blue light day held at Plympton Fire Station proved hugely successful, with hundreds of people turning out to learn more about the work of the five emergency services taking part – police, fire service, ambulance, coastguard and Dartmoor Search and Rescue.
The day was formally opened by Stannator of Plympton Andrew Hill and attended by Plympton’s Youth Ambassador Isaac Hudson.
Among a number of informative displays were medics demonstrating resuscitation techniques, the fire service showing the use of their aerial platform and a talk by a police dog handler along with one of their dogs.
There was also the chance for the public to experience some hands on activities such as using a fire hose and being winched up and down on a rope in a simulation of a rescue mission.
For those interested in history the Friends of South West Police Heritage Trust had a stall with a number of items of memorabilia, including police staffs used in bygone years, different types of old police uniforms and different types of handcuffs used in the past.
There was also a list showing the 30 smaller borough and city forces which over the years have merged into what is now Devon and Cornwall Police.
There was a set of leg stocks which the Stannator found himself detained in for a while and also a replica of an old blue police box of the type which used to be used to contain phones to contact officers when out on the beat and in which prisoners could temporarily be detailed before a van came to collect them.
The day was the brainchild of Plympton’s neighbourhood beat manager PC Greg Rendle and Plympton fire station’s watch manager Neil Willmott. PC Rendle spent a large part of the day in period costume, wearing an old police cape and sporting a whistle and carrying a truncheon.
As well as showcasing the work of the emergency services the event acted as a fundraiser to raise money towards the cost of providing a defibrillator for Plympton Ridgeway as well supporting Prostate Cancer UK and the Firefighters’ Charity.
The event massively surpassed the expectations of the organisers. PC Rendle said he was ‘overwhelmed’ by the extent of public support and added:
“It was great to see all the different emergency services engage with our local community like I have never seen before.”
Postings on Plympton Police’s Facebook page after the event highlighted the success of the day. Charlotte Handforth posted:
“Thank you all so much for such an incredible day! My six year old is a very shy boy and doesn’t like loud noises, but this really helped him today! He absolutely loved it!“
Ginny Kathleen added:
“This day was brilliant, my youngest son didn’t want to leave.”
“A brilliant day, my daughter loved it and it was great to see such a lovely community atmosphere.” Matt Jackson commented: “This day was brilliant, my youngest son didn’t want to leave.”
Fire service watch manager Neil Willmott said:
“Wow what a fantastic Open Day!! Thanks for all the support from everyone who came along today. I have been told this needs to happen every year now!!”
There is an interview with Brian Edmunds from the Friends of South West Police Heritage Trust online in the June edition of the Plympton Podcast in which he talks about the work of the Trust and some of the items which were on display at the Blue Light Day.
