RESIDENTS of the Bodmin St and Croft Road areas of Holsworthy had a big surprise last Tuesday evening, November 1, when three fire engines with lights flashing, an ambulance and several support vehicles arrived — apparently to attend an incident at the HATS theatre, writes Christine Williams.

Locals need not have worried since, with the cooperation of the theatre, local fire services were simulating a ‘real life’ training exercise.

From about 6.30pm HATS secretary Annette Dennis briefed a team of stewards, then volunteer members of the audience including HATS members and friends, and 13 members of the Holsworthy Army Cadets arrived to take their seats in the auditorium.

To entertain them a group of actors appeared on the stage, reading a scene from a play.

Half an hour later, without warning, the stage curtains closed and front of house manager Trevor House announced that an ‘incident’ had occurred backstage and asked the audience to evacuate the theatre and assemble in the yard of the Masonic Lodge across the street.

In a matter of minutes a fire engine from Holsworthy Fire Station arrived to be followed soon after by engines from Hatherleigh and Bude with some 25 firefighters and an ambulance from the Holsworthy and Okehampton branch of St John Ambulance.

They set about finding and dealing with the supposed seat of a fire in the boiler at the rear and, using breathing apparatus, finding and rescuing a dozen volunteer casualties from various parts of the theatre, some of whom needed medical attention.

After about an hour the exercise was completed, a hot ‘cuppa’ was available from the theatre kitchen and, led by Owen Ravenscroft and Graham Rooke of Holsworthy and Mark Sanders of Bideford, the firefighters held a debriefing session inside the theatre.

Afterwards, crew manager George Gwynn, who is based in Barnstaple, said firefighters from Holsworthy and Hatherleigh had spent part of the weekend attending the fire at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter.

Even so, the exercise had been very valuable in getting their firefighters off station, exposing them to a local risk and providing experience in managing a search and rescue incident.

He was very grateful to HATS for the willing help and support they had given and said: “Without people offering such opportunities, it can’t happen.”

HATS chairman, Peter Whitehead, said: “It was a privilege to be able to support the local fire services by allowing them to train in the theatre. We also had the benefit of their advice following our own evacuation exercise."