Residents urged to follow advice during storm and flooding

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service received 81 calls over the weekend (September 21 and 22) regarding weather related incidents. Twenty-eight of these needed the Fire Service to attend and the 53 other cases have been able to receive advice over the phone.

The county is currently under an Amber weather alert for rain until 9pm and Yellow Alert until midnight tonight and so, with the adverse weather continuing, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service is asking the public to be aware of roads that may be flooded and to keep listening to alerts and advice given by the Service and local authorities. You can find advice on what to do during a flood at GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

There are already reports of difficult driving conditions on many roads in the county, with reports of abandoned cars in Easton Maudit and Grendon.

On Saturday (September 21), crews attended four weather-related incidents all in the North of the county. These included, flood water entered properties in Wilby, Earls Barton and Wollaston, with crews isolating electrics at the respective properties and giving advice to home owners.

They also attended a house that had been struck by lightning in Desborough. Fours crews and an aerial appliance attended at the height of the incident and quickly got to work to stop the fire spreading. One crew remained on the scene until just after 11pm to dampen down any remaining hotspots.

On Sunday, the bad weather on Sunday morning (September 22) was mostly in and around Northampton, with crews being called to 12 flooded related incidents in the town between 8am and 10am. Other incidents we attended included:

• The crew from Wellingborough and the water rescue unit from Mereway attended the village of Grendon, where crews assisted residents whose properties were flooded, and rescued two people from the water.
• Moulton crew pumped out 50,000 litres of flood water in the open at Kingscroft Court.
• Attended to assist with a car stuck in flood water on the A5199 in Guilsborough shortly before 10am.
• Shortly before 1pm, crews from Wellingborough and Moulton were called to Washbrook Road in Rushden, where lightning had struck the chimney of a domestic property. The lightning strike caused the structure to become dangerous, and crews used the aerial appliance to remove loose bricks from the top of the chimney.
• Just after 7pm crews from Earls Barton, Mereway and the water rescue unit at Wellingborough attended the village of Easton Maudit as a number of houses have been affected by flood water. Crews attended the care home and neighbouring properties to check the welfare of occupants, and all were well.
• Wellingborough was called to deal with another lightning strike, this time affecting a home in Hollowell Street in Wollaston. There was no evidence of a fire and advice was given to the occupants.
• Just after 8pm, two people were walked out of flood water by firefighters on Easton Way in Grendon.
• The on-call crew from Irthlingborough pumped large amounts of water out of North Street in Raunds.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service is reminding people to take care and follow the below advice:

• Keep an eye on weather reports for flooding in your area. Do not travel in heavy rain unless absolutely necessary.
• Do not ignore road closed signs
• Never attempt to cross or drive through floodwater if you don’t know how deep the water is. Just two feet of water will float a car.
• Never try to swim through fast flowing water or floodwater – you may get swept away or be injured by an object in the water.
• Don’t assume fords are safe to cross just because the road is not closed. Always look at the river level gauge and use your common sense.
• Floodwater may be contaminated. Never allow children or pets to go near or play in floodwater.
• Prepare a flood kit in case your home floods or you are trapped in a vehicle for any period. This should contain a change of clothing, wellies, waterproofs and blankets as well as a torch, charged mobile, medication and a first aid kit and a list of useful numbers, including flood alert lines.

Area Manager Neil Sadler said: “I want to urge members of the public to take care when driving and consider whether they could reschedule their journey. There may be abandoned cars on the road and hazards under the water that aren’t visible.

“We ask people to keep listening to forecasts and follow the safety messages and advice shared by the Fire Service and other partners during this time.”