Firefighters to the rescue - of fish

FIREFIGHTERS saved up to 40 lives in a single hour, but it wasn't people they rescued ? it was fish.
The fire crew from Gosport rushed to the aid of oxygen-starved fish as the water in a pond became so low they started floating belly-up. The carp and rudd in Elmore Lake, Lee-on-the-Solent, started dying as the water in parts was reduced to nothing but a muddy layer of silt.

Firefighters were called because the council is not allowed to remove any fish that are still alive ? even if it means saving their lives.

After speeding to the scene, the crew attached a hose to a nearby hydrant and spent about an hour pumping hundreds of litres of fresh water into the pond in the hope of keeping the remaining 40 fish swimming.

Kevin Butcher, head of operations at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: 'We assisted in filling up this pond as a humanitarian service, although it does not form part of the service's statutory obligations.'

None of the fish have died since the water was topped up, but the Environment Agency is still monitoring the water level at the pond every day.

They aren't even rescuing people round our way( Merseyside ) never mind fish. They've had three eight day strikes in the last few weeks with management manning the appliances.