MoD fire call outs included breakfast burning in microwave
Fire crews have attended 19 incidents at Shropshire Ministry of Defence (MoD) sites since the start of the year, including one last month after someone’s breakfast was left unattended in a microwave.
Figures obtained from the Ministry of Defence under the Freedom of Information Act show seven medical emergencies and three flooding incidents are among the 18 cases logged at the army base in Donnington.
The Defence Fire and Rescue Service – which protects British military assets and operates independently of regular fire brigades – was called out to RAF Shawbury once, to a fire in a garden waste bin, and never needed to attend RAF Cosford between January and July 2020.
In all cases, one vehicle and a crew of between four and six firefighters was sent to the scene, while on one occasion – a flooding incident at Donnington in April – a station manager was also on the scene.
An Army Secretariat statement added: “Shropshire Fire and Rescue were neither informed nor in attendance at any of the incidents.”
It added that the incident log only reflects callouts attended by fire crews. “It does not include accidental or false calls,” the statement said.
Seven of the incidents at Donnington are listed as “medical first response”. Five are classified as leaks or spills of either gas, steam, diesel or other liquids.
A smell of burning, caused by an electrical fault, led to a callout just after 5pm on Thursday, July 2, while an incident five days later at 8.35am is logged as “unattended food cooking in microwave”.
RAF Shawbury, a major training centre and flying school, called in the Defence Fire and Rescue Service at 7.45am on Sunday, May 10. This is logged as “fire in garden waste bin”.
