Apart from a fire, why else might a fire engine be called out in the middle of the night?

[AngeloMysterioso]

A fire engine has been parked outside my house for the last half hour. I can’t see any burning houses or smell any smoke and there doesn’t appear to be any activity going on around the fire engine itself, it’s just sitting there... engine running, lights flashing and the whole shebang.

Any guesses?

Possible trigger warning -
I used to live near a high train bridge, they were always called in cases of suicide/attempted suicide, which happened regularly, unfortunately.
They would sit on our road with the blues on and it was usually all very quiet though.
If there's anything like that near you then they might be on standby in case they're needed in a similar situation.

It must have been some kind of emergency to necessitate the flashy lights

Not really, the fire service tend to go.blues & twos to all their shouts

Rural location and former old lady over the road who had dementia burnt her toast & she called the fire brigade - two fire engines outside my house for ages but I think only one of them went to sort it out and deal with her - almost made me look forward to getting old and batty

@AngeloMysterioso

It must have been some kind of emergency to necessitate the flashy lights... but I didn’t see a single person go in or out of the fire engine or the houses opposite (not that I was keeping an eye out for dishy firefighters, no sir not me), and with where they were parked it would only have been one of those two or my own house that they were here for.

I don’t know, I think they like the flashy lights. I had a fire truck parked outside, lights woke me. No action, they were just sitting there. I went out and asked if there was anything I should worry about, they said ‘nah, all good love’ and I went back to bed to watch the lights flash on my ceiling until they quietly drove away.

I’d have never known they were there if they’d kept the lights off.

An alarm has gone off that's linked to the station but it's a false alarm?
Someone needs an aided lift?
Carbon monoxide alarm gone off?
Someone made a fake call?

Someone couldn't get their cock ring off?

I called a fire engine once when I drove my car into a river and got stuck. 🤷‍♀️ Any rivers near the allotments?

My husband collapsed 4 weeks ago and the paramedics couldn't move him as he developed severe paralysis when he fell. They had to get the firefighters in to get him onto the stretcher and into the ambulance.
Their lights were flashing but they were very quiet, don't think they even spoke to me but they got the job done.

My poor DH is still currently paralysed in hospital but if it wasn't for the paramedics and the fire brigade it may have been a lot worse.

Sometimes they will attend as first responders for any ‘emergency’ that’s called in if they are likely to be the first to get there - so it could be medical, or someone cals to say they can’t rouse their granny and want someone to get into their house fast, someone calls 999 and the operator can’t quite understand the exact nature of the emergency (but it’s judged as an emergency), someone is locked out of their car and they have left their baby inside... loads of reasons.

My niece is a firefighter and she has been called out to allsorts... (retrieving bodies hanging from bridges... shudder).

Toddler locked himself in the bathroom, one with metal framed doorways so you can't physically break the door in? Not that I've ever been in that situation of course! (And said toddler thought seeing all around a fire engine was amazing)

The police called the fire service for me, when I called them, when I got home from school and found my very tall dad collapsed and wedged across the doorway.(I was 16 and panicking).

They came out like that when my DP’s dad died... the paramedics couldn’t get in, so they called the fire brigade. It was literally one bang when the forced the door and that was it.

If anyone had missed that bang (and it wasn’t particularly loud) and looked out they’d have just seen them sat in the fire engine after.

The ambulance service one called the fire brigade when i damaged my back and couldn't move. They were struggling to get me out of the house , so the firemen were called to assist. They needed more hands to maneuver the stretcher. It was so embarrassing 😳

Where I am firefighters often turn up to gain access to allow paramedics to get to some one.

Though I guess it's not that as you'd have spotted an ambulance too! Unless the fire engine got there first.

@FloydWasACat I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery

Could've been a hoax call, wrong address given, false alarm, they might have been stood down/told they weren't needed yet at the scene but might be soon so to hold on nearby for further instructions.

“Though I guess it's not that as you'd have spotted an ambulance too! Unless the fire engine got there first.”

We were fairly sure he was already dead, it wasn’t a speed is essential situation, the ambulance didn’t have lights or sirens and parked up properly... it was just the fire engine that had everything on and sat in the road.

Sawing through handcuffs...

Cock/tongue piercing entanglement?

fire and rescue,
someone stuck in the bathroom/bath

Am I the only one who every time I read 'flashy' lights rather than flashing, I think of a blue light covered in tinsel and a lot of gold

The fire brigade used to do exercises near us, sadly not aerobics classes, but training for extracting people where access is difficult - there was a ravine across the lane across from our house. Might it have been a training exercise?

@LesRosiers

Am I the only one who every time I read 'flashy' lights rather than flashing, I think of a blue light covered in tinsel and a lot of gold

The fire brigade used to do exercises near us, sadly not aerobics classes, but training for extracting people where access is difficult - there was a ravine across the lane across from our house. Might it have been a training exercise?

‘Sadly not aerobics exercises’ 😂😂😂 I’m picturing fire fighters with 80’s style headbands on.

I like your idea of the tinsel and lots of gold 😂😂

That would’ve been so cool being able to watch them train like that!

Filling their tank from a water main ?

@Womendohavevaginasnick

Cock/tongue piercing entanglement?

Some of you seem to know an awful lot about the fire brigade’s more niche services. 😏

proposal?

fireman friend had a big to do for his fiancé.