Episode 12 First Time on the Front Line

Britain's next generation of emergency service recruits,

chosen from a pool of thousands.

Rookies, like firefighter Lianne, her dream job now a reality.

I've always seen firefighters as someone to look up to

and, you know, I want to be a part of it.

And police special Beccy,

giving her time free to help keep her community safe.

It's all come together with the belt, the handcuffs,

I do feel like a proper police officer now.

Julie's embarking on a new career as a paramedic at 53.

'Age shouldn't hold you back.'

Just go for it.

They've survived months of intensive training.

Come on, let's move!

ALL: Get back!

They've been tested to their limits.

-Spray, spray!

-It's burning!

Stop panicking, don't worry.

All to realise their ultimate ambitions.

Come on!

It's been a long, hard road,

but I've eventually got here and I'm incredibly happy that I did.

Join them for their...

In today's programme - roadside rescue.

Lianne's called on to cut a driver from a crash.

Ready, brace, move.

Busted by Beccy.

The necessity for your arrest

is just so we can prevent any loss or damage to any of the evidence.

Is the drug suspect a dealer as well as a user?

We've found a large bag of cannabis bush.

And an agonising wait for an ambulance.

-Ow!

-OK, Neil, OK.

Julie needs expert help for a man with a suspected broken neck.

The patient's in severe pain.

Ready, steady, roll.

MAN GROANS IN PAIN

The West Midlands.

Nearly three million residents served by 1,600 firefighters.

The latest recruit - 31-year-old Lianne Petts.

Come on, let's go, let's go!

When the fire service recently advertised vacancies,

over 4,000 hopefuls applied.

If you go off track, that's when you will start to make errors.

Lianne was among the few successful ones.

It's something I've always wanted to do.

I've always seen firefighters as someone to look up to

and I think it's great what they do and now I want to be a part of it.

She spent eight weeks at the training academy...

Get to work. Keep going, come on!

..where she learned the skills, techniques

and discipline required...

Don't just stand there, get involved!

..to become a top firefighter.

Give that enough force, OK?

It's still hard to believe, but, no, it's great.

I'm so happy to get the job.

On the final day of training, it's traditional for recruits to show off

their new skills to senior officers and to their relatives.

We've got families, we've got the chief there, as well,

so we want to make a good impression

and show them what we've done.

It's excellent.

I feel really proud to see this group of people

showing their hours of training

that they've already put in.

It's the start of a journey for them to become professional firefighters.

Great. I want to do it again now!

Then the graduation ceremony -

the culmination of so much study and training.

A proud moment for Lianne...

It's something I've always wanted to do, so it is emotional.

..and her parents.

She's started me off already!

Three weeks on and Lianne's new career is under way.

She's stationed at Highgate in the heart of Birmingham.

I've been looking forward to it for so long and then suddenly I'm here.

It's hard to believe.

As a stranger to the area,

her crewmates are keen to show her around.

I don't know Birmingham very well at all so...

I don't even know the city centre very well,

let alone the outskirts, so it's good to be having a ride round.

The West Midlands brigade responds to 14,000 emergency calls a year.

That's 38 every day.

And totally out of the blue, the latest comes in.

-Oh, here we go!

-Here we go!

A 999 call reports a blaze in a block of flats.

Lianne's guided tour will have to wait.

As with most shouts, the early information is vague.

Lianne needs a cool head - it's her first fire.

As the crew arrive, the panicked tenant is on the ground floor.

The firefighters need to prep their breathing apparatus

and enter the flat before the flames spread.

Lianne's been designated entry control officer.

She must raise the alarm if her crewmates' air supply

starts to run low.

We've got to record...

If they do go in and wear BA, we have to record it

with the entry control boarding monitor, what air they've got.

Their safety is in her hands.

Thanks to her training, Lianne slots into the role with ease.

Yeah, just wait.

Minutes later, Lianne's colleagues emerge.

They've extinguished the fire,

which had taken hold in the kitchen.

One of the problems with cooking oils.

Basically, the occupant here

thought he'd put the grill on, but actually put the oven on.

He did the correct thing -

he got out, he shut the kitchen door, shut the front door and dialled 999.

It was a successful shout, with the new recruit playing her part.

It gave me a good practice about being entry control officer

and what I need to gather up and what equipment to take up there with me

and what goes on, basically, so it was good.

It was a good experience.

A good start, but much tougher challenges lie ahead.

In Cheshire, another rookie is treading new ground.

Police special Beccy Purcell

has already caught burglars red-handed...

Arms out in front of you. Both out where I can see them.

..and made her first arrests.

Save it for interview.

Now it's time to go on patrol at night.

Beccy works as a government contracts manager.

But her taste for adventure means

she longs for life beyond the office.

The opportunity to become a special was kind of right up my street.

I've always been quite charity-minded.

When I was younger, I spent time doing aid work abroad.

I've always been quite involved in the local community,

so the opportunity to become a special

was something that appealed to that side of my nature.

Specials give up 200 hours of their time each year.

Hours spent helping keep their communities safe.

Beccy will spend tonight's hours on a late shift.

She completed a 20-day training programme

to qualify as a special, but from now on she's learning on the job.

Because I've been practising

my handcuffing so much, and I've got that down to a T,

I really hope that I get an arrest tonight.

New specials are each assigned a constable tutor.

Beccy's mentor is PC Richard Whitehead.

Tonight, he's on the hunt for a prolific house breaker.

This burglar, is targeting semidetached dwellings

around this time of night,

breaking in through the back door and stealing jewellery.

It's something that's a crime, it is happening, it's important,

because it's victims getting their houses broken into,

and we need to catch this chap so we need to keep our eyes peeled.

Right on cue, the pair is called to action.

There's a report of a burglary in progress.

We're going to cover any of the exit routes.

The location fits the pattern of recent break ins.

We've had a burglary there this week, so we need to make haste.

Beccy's response to emergency calls will be monitored closely

during her 18-month probation period.

But, right now, she's barely one month in.

As learning curves go, this is a steep one.

I'm keen to get there and get involved

and start putting all my training into action.

This is what I've signed up for.

It's at the end of that road.

But, just as they approach the location, more news comes through.

The officers aren't needed after all.

Richard and Beccy are stood down.

The short-term adrenaline rush is over.

As well as looking out for crime and disorder,

night patrols are on the alert for road traffic offenders.

In 2012, the latest year for which figures are available,

290 people were killed as a result of drink-driving -

a 25% increase on the previous year.

A car's pulled out, failed to indicate, not got any lights on.

Beccy's just spotted a motorist who might be under the influence.

And it has pulled out from a pub car park,

so we've quite interested in stopping this...

I think it was female driver.

The one sure way to find out if a driver's been drinking -

a road-side test.

It's a chance for Beccy to learn a new skill.

-Jump out.

-Yeah.

-We've got the breath kit with us there.

She will be getting breathalysed. Let's do it.

The reason why we pulled you over

is cos you've driven all the way from the pub with no lights on.

Despite her erratic handling of the car,

the driver says she hasn't been drinking.

Beccy's going to establish if that's true.

Just step to the road side for us.

Cos you've committed a moving traffic offence,

my colleague is going to ask you to blow into the little tube.

-That's fine.

-All right.

Beccy has to do the test correctly.

If a prosecution is to follow, the procedure must be legally sound.

OK, so it's all set to go.

I'm going to ask you to take a long, deep breath into that.

Keep going until I say stop.

-It's all right.

-You've done it.

-Stop there. You're fine, you're fine.

-I've got a bad chest, I've got flu.

-Oh!

-OK, absolutely zero, you've passed.

So the breath test came back absolutely zero,

so no alcohol whatsoever.

And we're quite happy that she's safely on her way.

The driver is free to leave.

Thank you.

Beccy's performed her first breath test

and more new experiences lie just around the corner.

West Midlands Ambulance Service employs 2,300 front-line staff.

Julie Plante is one of the newest additions to that team.

So far, she's treated a patient struggling to breathe,

and come to the aid of a seriously ill pensioner.

Two, three.

Her early shifts have all been hectic.

Her latest will be no different.

Julie's paramedic career began in Autumn 2013,

along with 46 other new recruits.

You should be able to manage your trauma patient

using the equipment available.

At 53, she believed she was still young enough to retrain.

Complete change of career.

I'm looking forward to actually becoming a paramedic,

working out there on the road, taking the responsibility

and just following through everything that I've been taught.

Four weeks later,

Julie's about to put her newly-acquired skills into practice.

She's responding to a 999 call with her experienced mentor, Becky Price.

It promises to be a tough start to a 12-hour shift.

At the moment, we know that it's a 45-year-old male.

When the paramedics arrive, they find that the caller

lives in a tower block, on the tenth floor.

Oh, goodness me, talk about a security door.

When they reach him, it's clear that the patient, Neil,

is in pain and distress.

Hello, I'm Julie.

-Can I just ask you when you had your fall?

-Yesterday.

Yesterday. OK.

Julie suspects the fall has caused a serious neck or spinal injury.

Every day in Britain, three people are paralysed in this way.

If I put my hands down the back, is that painful?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, OK, I think we need to get a collar, OK?

The paramedics need to immobilise Neil's neck.

We're going to put a collar onto you.

It's certainly not going to be that comfortable,

-but it's something we need to do.

-Ow!

OK, Neil. OK, Neil. OK.

But putting the protection in place is only their first challenge.

Are you OK to rest there?

Next, they must get him to hospital.

And that means moving him down ten floors

without endangering his neck or spine.

Just checking, really, what kind of angle

we might need to get our patient at to remove him safely.

They need the help of a specialist unit.

The Hazardous Area Response Team

are experts in moving injured casualties.

The patient's in severe pain. We were just wondering

if you could bring your special stretcher and help us. Over.

With the team en route, it's down to Julie to control Neil's pain

before the difficult move.

But there's a problem -

she can't find a vein to administer intravenous pain relief.

You've got very difficult veins, OK? For whatever reason.

You're certainly a challenge.

She needs to deliver the pain relief fast.

A patient writhing in agony could injure himself further.

No, I'm really struggling on here.

Finally, Julie does find a viable vein - in Neil's foot.

OK, you're going to feel a sharp scratch coming up now, Neil, OK?

He can now get the pain relief he so desperately needs.

All done, Neil.

The Hazardous Area Response Team has arrived.

All its members are highly trained paramedics,

skilled in using the latest equipment.

We're going to roll you but we're going to do all the work.

Ready, steady, roll.

NEIL GROANS IN PAIN

The team straps Neil in securely.

They have to move him down ten floors.

Ready, steady, lift. Lovely.

The specialist kit means they can use the lift

rather than trying to navigate the stairs.

Are you OK? Is it not sliding? See you there.

On the ground floor, Julie and Becky take over.

They need to get their patient to hospital as quickly as possible.

It's a little bit bumpy, Neil. Well done.

Even with pain relief, this is not going to be a comfortable journey.

Right, a slight bump coming up, Neil, OK?

Neil's soon delivered to A&E.

Julie took the clinical lead in this case,

even though her partner's more experienced.

It's the only way she will learn.

When you've got a mentor with you that's taking

the responsibility, it's quite easy just to support that mentor.

But when it's the other way around

and you're expected to make the decisions,

it's a huge responsibility.

They head back out. Their night shift has only just begun.

In Birmingham, it's a new day for rookie firefighter Lianne.

Three weeks into the job, the novelty hasn't worn off.

I've got visions of everything falling out on me.

It still doesn't feel real now I'm here,

even though I'm in the uniform, I'm at the station.

It is daunting and scary and exciting and... And I love it.

-Does someone go there as well or...?

-No.

No, so I'll be all right.

I want to do well and I don't want to let the other guys on the watch down.

Cos I want to be the best I can be, really, so...

I want to impress them.

Today's shift has barely begun when Lianne does get a chance to impress.

It's 10.30am and her crew is called to a car crash.

Less than a month ago, Lianne was being taught

how to remove casualties from wrecked vehicles.

Hello, can you hear me? Can you wriggle your fingers at all?

But that was a training exercise. This is for real.

The crash involves a hatchback that's left the road

and is now straddling the kerb.

Inside is a female driver with spinal injuries.

Outside, her worried husband can only watch

as the crew plan how to cut her free.

Lianne is asked to lead the rescue effort.

The hydraulic cutters weigh over 20 kilos.

The new recruit is lifting a third of her body weight.

It takes just 12 minutes to cut away the roof.

But before the crew can move the driver,

a surgical board needs to be slid under her spine.

We're just going to put the board in now, then. Any pain, let us know.

Again, Watch Commander Paul tells the rookie to take the lead.

Right, are her feet free?

Failure to do this properly

could cause serious injury to the driver.

Is she all right down there?

Two inches. Ready, brace, move.

Now the driver's been removed, she can be rushed to hospital.

-Keep really still and they're just going to slide these boards out underneath you, all right?

-OK.

The work of the Fire Service is done.

Lianne and her bosses are satisfied with how she performed.

There's a million different scenarios going through your head

of what you're going to see when you turn up. Your heart's going, your adrenaline's pumping.

I'm sure I can improve a lot,

but it's all about learning and training, really.

She doesn't stand back - she gets stuck in -

which is always a good sign of her confidence.

I'm really pleased with her.

Lianne was worried she'd let everyone down.

But today she proved she's a valuable member of the team.

I'm never going to take it for granted - that's one thing.

I know there's a lot of people tried to get here.

I fell really grateful that I am and that I've made it.

Just...enjoy it now.

In Cheshire, Police Special Beccy arrives for an early shift.

She's about to take part in her first drugs raid,

which will be led by her mentor Richard Whitehead.

We've had information that there's a cannabis farm.

There's a power cable going up the side of the shed in the rear garden.

The police have obtained a warrant to search the suspect's property.

Beccy, if we find anything...

lock him up.

Fingers crossed we get a result.

A fortnight earlier, Beccy made her first arrest -

but stumbled over the words of the caution.

You don't have to say anything but anything you do say may be taken as evidence...

and used against you. OK?

Sorry - it may harm your defence if you don't mention when questioned something you later rely on in court.

Had she not corrected herself,

legal proceedings could have been jeopardised.

Today, she's determined to do everything by the book

and get her lines word perfect.

So if there is a farm,

it's an arrest for the misuse of... What's the...?

You will arrest the chap for production of cannabis.

-Right, OK, so it's that specific.

-Yeah.

Once they reach the house,

Richard sends two officers to cover the back.

The suspect's about to get a surprise wake-up call.

For Beccy, there's no time for nerves.

..from Stockton Heath Police Station.

-Can we come in and have a quick chat with you?

-Course you can, mate.

-Cheers, bud. Appreciate it.

We're here because of information that you're growing cannabis in the garden shed.

The suspect admits to using drugs.

-You smoke a bit of weed.

-Yep.

So if there's any other weed in the house,

a bit of personal, hand it over.

Yeah, yeah, I'll go and get all my weed and what have you.

-OK, where is it?

-It's upstairs.

-Is it?

A quick search reveals cannabis and cocaine in his bedroom.

-Is that everything in here?

-Yeah, that's everything.

I'll get the lads to have a look around. We'll go downstairs.

Beccy...

With class-A and class-B drugs found, an arrest is justified.

It's Beccy's big moment.

We're going to arrest you for possession of cannabis

-and the cocaine that's there, all right?

-Yeah, yeah.

You've got the right to remain silent.

It may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court.

-Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?

-Yeah.

-OK.

The necessity for your arrest is just so we can preserve the evidence,

prevent any loss or damage to any evidence that exists.

-They're not too tight, are they?

-No.

This time her lines are spot on.

What I'm going to do is just stick a double lock on them - that just stops them going too tight.

A member of the public had tipped off the police about a possible cannabis farm in an outbuilding.

They'd reported a power cable outside the shed.

But it turns out to be just a piece of rope

and the outbuilding is clear of drugs.

No, I wouldn't say there's been anything in here.

Or they've certainly got rid of it all.

But back in the house, it's a different story.

What we've found in his bedroom is a large bag of cannabis bush.

We've also found a set of scales and a mobile phone holder.

And that's not all.

There's some cash that we found as well, some bank notes,

so we'll take that down and have a chat with him and understand where that money's come from

and why he's got so much cash in his bedroom.

The cash and scales may indicate the suspect is dealing after all.

-Time and date - when you found it.

-Yeah.

But he has an explanation for the money.

-They're my wages.

-How much money's there, mate?

-OK.

-Yeah.

There isn't enough clear evidence of dealing to confiscate the cash.

But enough drugs have been found to warrant a trip to the nick for questioning.

Just follow Beccy in.

Beccy takes the lead in a formal interview under caution.

This one was found in your bedroom.

Do you just want to explain what that one is for us?

So dry cannabis leaves.

-You know it's a drug?

-Yeah.

-You know it's illegal?

Then she learns how to take a suspect's prints.

-Just, like, do that...

-Yeah.

..across, dead light. One movement - no back and twos.

It's been a day of firsts for Beccy.

First drug raid.

First formal interview.

First fingerprinting.

The new Special is learning fast.

She took control of it.

It was nice to see that she's actually moved on,

rather than saying, you know, "What do I do next?"

She's progressed and it's nice to see. Hopefully, that'll keep going.

It's definitely interesting and it's definitely enjoyable

and hopefully it's the start of a long and fun career in the Specials and a rewarding one, as well.

In the West Midlands, it's just after 1am.

Julie and Becky's shift is drawing to a close.

I think we're all feeling tired now, aren't we?

But the paramedics need to stay alert.

Another urgent call has just come through.

A 68-year-old female with a chest infection.

But this isn't any female pensioner.

It's a patient who's already suffering from cancer,

which means it's a critical case.

Hello. Is it Ethel?

Tell me a bit about what's been going on, Ethel.

Well, I've got cancer, as you can see.

Yeah. Can I ask you where you've got cancer?

I've had it five times.

I've had it in my breast, in my back and in my neck twice.

-I'm having treatment and it's working...

-Brilliant.

-So they said.

Ethel's chemotherapy drugs have lowered her immune system,

leaving her highly vulnerable to this infection.

How long have you had the chest infection now?

-Four days.

-Four days.

It could lead to pneumonia -

a leading cause of death among the elderly.

If I can just ask you to lean forward a bit.

The signs are worrying.

I can definitely hear crackles on both sides.

-You're feeling pretty rough, I imagine?

-Terrible.

-Yeah.

14% of people hospitalised with pneumonia die from it.

SHE COUGHS

I want you to stay comfortable, OK?

Cos I can see you're struggling a little bit.

Ethel urgently needs specialist treatment.

A couple of bumps, OK?

Within minutes, they reach the nearest A&E.

How was that journey, Ethel? All right?

-Lovely driver.

-We aim to please.

Thanks to Julie and Becky's swift actions,

Ethel will soon get the care she needs.

Julie's pleased with how their final call went.

We actually got her into a bed, handed her over

and it was a nice close to the day.

At the end of her first month as a fully-fledged paramedic,

Julie considers all her training as time and effort well spent.

It's been a long, hard road.

Lots and lots of hours.

Probably miss my family quite a bit

but I've eventually got here and I'm incredibly happy that I did.

And I would recommend it to anyone.

You know, age shouldn't hold you back.

Just go for it.

The Suspect Beccy arrested during the raid

was given a formal police caution for the possession of class-A drugs.

Julie's patient Neil received extensive treatment in hospital

and is now on the road to recovery.

The car crash victim Lianne cut free was rushed to hospital

and given immediate care.

And Ethel had an emergency blood transfusion.

She spent a week in hospital before returning home.

Unstoppable force...

..meets immovable object.

Let us in. It's the police!

Amber and her colleagues

send in the dogs to help bust a suspected drug dealer.

-A couple of bags of white powder.

-Yeah.

A 999, a mum in agony

and a bewildered baby.

Can Sam detect what's wrong?

And potential disaster in the North Sea.

Gary joins a life-or-death mission

as a fishing boat sinks in freezing water.