Dan the Man with the Tow Truck

So, I started working today, Monday, but finished work on Tuesday!

We were working at Burnley Fire Station. Dan and I were the drivers and as everyone else was making their own way there we went in the lorry together. I drove there and unloaded and the plan was for Dan to load up and drive back.

It was a busy day but we finished on time, packed up and everyone said goodbye, got in their cars and set off home. Dan turned the engine on and a brake system light flashed up. He turned it on and off, but it kept flashing and bleeping….we were going nowhere. Dan got on the phone to Fraikin and they said they would be 60-90 minutes. They would send a tow truck to take us back to base. They knew we had blood on board and it was a good fifty minutes back to Plymouth Grove, so they were going to be as quick as they could. We were on the forecourt of the station and the firemen were just closing the doors so I asked if we were okay to wait there for the tow truck, we were.

Sabine was still there and she let the on call manager know the situation and the labs who were waiting for the blood. I gave our manager a call and then all we could do was wait. There was no point Sabine waiting so she went, although she did come back with a cuppa for us which was nice.

We were cursing the firemen at first as we thought they were ignoring us, but they hadn’t realised we were still there. They thought the lorry was empty and waiting to be towed. We had waited at least 90 minutes when Fraikin phoned and said they would be another 45 minutes. The lights went on in the garage and it looked like they were about to go on a shout so I went and asked if I could go back in to use the loo. They were really sorry they hadn’t seen us and took Dan and I in and made a cuppa for us. We had a good chat and the time passed quickly.

We got another call saying the tow truck was ten minutes away so we went back out. He arrived and saw us both and said, “How many of you are there?” It wasn’t rocket science, there was a lorry, Dan and I there. “Err, two of us. Is that a problem?” said Dan, stating the obvious. Well, it was as he only had one seat!! “It looks like I’m walking home then,” I said.

I phoned our manager. He phoned his boss. The end result was….they thought it was a sensor problem rather than the actual brakes so if we drove no faster than fifty and he followed us in case of a problem then we could get back. Everyone agreed and we set off. Fortunately there was no problem and we arrived back safely. We unloaded the blood for the labs and eventually got to go home. I’d started work at 10:30am and I arrived home at just gone midnight. I’m shattered!