Last week Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Lancashire spent 24 hours following the regions emergency services for Blue Light Day to find out what it’s like on the frontline responding to incidents as and when they arise. John Clayton, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Lancashire Editor, reflects on the day and the planning that went in to making it possible.
It all started when the floods hit Lancashire last December. As we went about reporting on the damage and disruption caused by Storm Desmond and friends, the idea was hatched that, when the waters subsided, we might spend a full day follow our emergency services in action. While we often reflect the great work that our blue light services do here in the county, this would be a unique opportunity to have an in-depth, up close look at how these services operate day to day in a marathon broadcast involving every programme, every available reporter and every nook and cranny of the county.
Blue Light Day was a good few months in the planning and it took hundreds of phone calls and meetings between Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Lancashire and the various organisations involved but, when the day finally came around it gave a fantastic insight and – most importantly – sounded great on air.
We started out at 6am on Thursday May 12th at Lancashire Constabulary Headquarters where breakfast presenter Graham Liver was, amongst other things, attacked by a German Shepherd dog and thrown into the back of a police van, setting the scene for the next 24 hours during which we heard a mixture of harrowing, jaw-dropping and hilarious tales from police officers, firefighters, paramedics and volunteers from the RNLI and Mountain Rescue Services.
Breakfast presenter Graham Liver looks at brand new police cars with Lancashire Constabulary Fleet Manager Chris Malkin
Mid-morning presenter Sally Naden and North-West Ambulance Service’s new chief executive Derek Cartwright opening the brand new emergency response centre in Broughton
Assistant Editor Tim Padfield with the ambulance crew in Lancaster
Broadcast Journalist Nishma Hindocha on a river rescue exercise with Lancashire Fire & Rescue
Broadcast Journalist John Barnes on a training exercise with the RNLI in Morecambe Bay
There were no major incidents. It was just a typical day and demonstrated just how hard these men and women work to keep Lancashire safe every day. It seems the idea even inspired people outside the county with police officers as far away as Cornwall joining in with our hashtag #bluelightday.
We’re already planning to do it all again next year, but even bigger and better and who knows…it could be something for our sister stations to join in.
John Clayton is Managing Editor, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Lancashire.
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