As firefighters consider strike action over pay, reporter ALEX EMERY, joined the crew from Westlea for a day to see exactly how they earn their money.

With the threat of a national fire strike becoming ever more real, questions have been raised over the merit of our firefighters.

Is a 40 per cent pay increase too much? Are they justified in demanding a minimum wage of £30,000? And what exactly do they do for their money?

To answer the last question and to help formulate a substantiated view on the first two the crew from Westlea invited me to spend a morning at their station.

This was going to be no cosy chat round a table with a cup of tea. The initial three questions fired at me by sub-officer Martin Lloyd made that plain.

Are you claustrophobic, afraid of heights, and does the dark scare you?

Answering no to the above, I was strapped into a car one of several donated to the station by Honda every year as the crew prepared cutters, spreaders and electric saws. For firefighters do not just fight fire.

The Westlea branch, with 19 firefighters, specialises in extraction, the life-saving skill needed at road smashes, and is called to at least three incidents a week.

Although it was a mock-up and I didn't have tons of twisted metal from other vehicles bearing down on my smashed limbs, the experience of being a human sardine in a four-wheeled tin was still very unpleasant.

Through the smashing of glass and the screeching of saw against metal, there came the reassuring voice of one of the firefighters.

I was in no physical pain or danger but when this is done for real, the injuries can be extreme.

Martin, 42, of Silchester Way, said: "There is always one firefighter constantly talking to the person trapped, to calm and reassure them, while the others start cutting the vehicle.

"People go into shock very quickly and after being involved in a smash the last thing they want to hear is more banging and unnerving noises.

"We stabilise the vehicle first by letting the air out of the tyres. When there is a risk of spinal injuries even a millimetre's movement can result in paralysis."

Martin said that when a car is hit head-on the bonnet is crushed against the driver's ankles, legs and pelvis, which necessitates a delicate rescue operation.

"This type of collision often results in broken bones, which are forced through the skin," he said. "When there is exposed flesh and bones we have to make certain glass and metal from the extraction do not get into the wounds.

"We have to finish our job as quickly, and carefully, as possible to allow the paramedics access."

Following the extraction, Westlea's Watch One demonstrated an aerial rescue, in which a firefighter is lowered over a building in a form of abseil.

This type of rescue is less common around Swindon but is essential for reaching casualties stuck down mines, ravines and areas inaccessible to vehicles.

Just before I was dropped by abseil from the top of Farnsby Street's car park, we were called out to the Cobalt UK warehouse in Blagrove. It was a false alarm.

Graeme Pashley, 26, said the watch might be called out at least four times a day.

He said: "I don't get nervous when the call comes in now, but if it is a house fire and there are people thought to be inside then you do worry about what you will find when you get there.

"You never know what to expect or what state the building will be in."

And so to the breathing apparatus, one of the most essential pieces of equipment used in fire rescue. The oxygen tank alone weighs 15 kilos, and the rasping sound your breath makes inside the mask suggests each one will be your last.

It is pitch black inside the mock-up house in the station grounds, and although there are no flames or smoke it is still unnerving and hot.

After just five minutes struggling up a staircase and grappling blindly round unfamiliar rooms trying to find a casualty, I was covered in sweat.

"You have to know your limits," said Martin. "It's no good if you are suffering from heat and humidity. You can become completely disorientated.

"There have been cases where firefighters suffering have become confused and lost their way ending up walking straight back inside a burning building."

Firefighter Paul Lawler, 23, says everyone must recognise their own warning signs as well as looking out for each other's.

Paul, who lives in Benwell Close, said: "I generally sweat a lot when I am working but when I am starting to suffer I sweat less and less and seem to stop.

"When you are in the complete darkness there are techniques used for safety but these can be forgotten when heat and humidity sets in. The rescues are physically exhausting."

I experienced just a fraction of what these firefighters go through every day of the year.

Not only are they trained to the highest standards in saving lives and operating heavy and dangerous equipment, they are also skilled in dealing with the people they are saving.

They are brave members of our community and deserve our respect.

www.fbu.org.uk