Series 13 - Episode 1

Summary

Previously and credits
**********************************
(Apologies, parts are missing from the beginning, my VCR didn't record the beginning five minutes or so and I can't remember what exactly hasppened).

Adam and George were out in the Arial Ladder Platform, when a man runs out infront of the appliance and waves them down. "What do you think this is? A bleeding bus!" George mumbles. The man explains that a house is on fire and they drive towards it. Adam jumps out of the cab and runs towards the fire and enters without any BA.

************************************************************
Geoff is standing at the window of a woman's car, she's in labour.

Geoff: "How frequent are the contractions?"
Woman: "All the bloody time!"

Sally is also there along with Hi - Ho, Hyper and Recall. They suggest that the woman needs a bit more privacy, so they get a ground sheet and cover it over the car. Geoff helps the woman during the labour, along with Sally at his end and Hi - Ho with an oxygen mask at the other end. Hi - Ho looked pretty nervous and scared and could get holding the mask over her mouth right - he was holding it to hard.

************************************************************
Shadbrook turn up to the house fire where George and Adam are. Adam runs out of the fire, carrying a woman, who drops her hand bag on the floor. Some of the contents of the bag fall out, George puts them back inside.

George introduce's Adam to Shadbrook's Watch Commander Steve Prentiss and Gary "Flatty" Foot, who call Adam "Superman" for going into the fire without any BA. While discussing the men on the watch Flatty and Pentiss tell George and Adam about Hi - Ho still being a virgin.
**********************************************************
Geoff and Sally are still helping the woman during the labour and are telling her to pant through the pain. The baby crowns and the baby is delivered. The woman asks Geoff for his name and he says Pearce, so the woman name's the baby Pearce after Geoff. Then Geoff says his first name is Geoff and Pearce is his surname, but the woman says she'll stick with Pearce.
************************************************************
George and Adam are on there way back to the station. George takes a different route and passes the old station, which he thinks will be turned into a fancy restaurant with flats above. They then carry on, passing a block of flats and stop at a lolypop lady who was escorting an old couple - Ron and Judith Schuster, across the road. The appliance drives off. A young boy runs past the Schuster's and slightly knocks Judith, Ron calls out to him and the boy yells something back then runs off.
***************************************************************
In the block of flats a group of youths are having a party, with alcohol and music up loud. Terry, their neighbour, goes onto the phone to complain to the police and council. Terry moans that he works night shifts and that he hadn't had any sleep for 48 hours because of the noise. Lynne, Terry's wife, watches him on the phone as she holds their baby.
***************************************************************
At the new Blackwall Fire Station...

They all arrive back to the station and spot a photographer, who is there to take photo's for the station's official opening.

Geoff orders Sally, Hi - Ho, Hyper and Recall to clean the appliances and tells them all about a new cleaning rota that is going up on the mess noticeboard and in certain other places. They all go towards the cupboard to get out the cleaning equipment.
***************************************************************
In the locker room...

Geoff yells at Adam about being irresponsible at the shout because he went inside the fire without any BA. Then he reveals that Steve Prentiss told him what happened.

Coleman walks into the locker room and tells Adam that he wants to see him in his office...
***************************************************************
In Coleman's office...

Adam and Coleman had a discussion about the woman's hand bag from the shout that Adam and George went on. Adam left the office and was told to send George in.

George went in shortly after and Coleman told him that an item of expensive jewellery was stolen and that George was spotted handeling the bag. George told Coleman that items fell out so he put them back in. Coleman revealed that Steve Prentiss and Gary "Flatty" Foot, saw George handle the bag and so did the woman who it belonged to and she'd formed a complaint against George, blaming him on stealing the jewellery.
***************************************************************
Commercial Break...
***************************************************************
In the Appliance area...

Geoff moans that the appliances haven't been cleaned properly and that they hadn't touched the wheels, so he told them all to start again.

They notice George seems to be quiet but he says he's fine. Recall talk to him about giving him a loan, but George doesn't accept.

They start winding up Hi - Ho, calling him "New Boy" and then Adam and Recall started singing "Like a virgin". Hi - Ho realised that Flatty and Prentiss had been talking to them and denied that he was a virgin and told them to talk to any of his girlfriends and they would tell him that it wasn't true.

Coleman walks out into the appliance bay area and asks Sally if they can talk. Coleman tells Sally that the results of the inquiery into Sicknote and Joe's death, will be back soon. Sally blames Grigg's for their deaths.
**************************************************************
The youths are still having their party in their flat. It is revealed that they're having the party because one of them is leaving for the army. The two others give him grief saying that he won't last long by he is consistant in saying that he will last.

Terry, their neighbour, bashes on their front door. He asks them to turn the music down cause he needs to get some sleep. he won't and stand on the other side of the door mocking him, then they shut the door and he walks off.
***************************************************************
In the station...

Hyper and Geoff are talking as they walk around the stair case. Geoff tells Hyper that George is suspected of stealing an expensive item of jewellery.

They go into Geoff's office.

Hyper mentions about Geoff's pager. Saying that it doesn't look good if the buzzer went off. He suggests putting it on vibrate, Geoff says he doesn't know how and he'll have to look at the manual at home. Hyper says that he has one just like it and says he'll change it. While changing the pager's settings to vibrate, he also gets Geoff's number.

Hyper leaves Geoff's office and signals with a thumbs up to the other guys that he has the number. Pitbull follows Hyper up the stairs.

Pitbull: "What are you lotv hanging around for?"

Recall: "We were waiting for you to get up those stairs so we could see your manly thighs."

Hi - Ho: "Phwoar!"

Pitbull: "You are spending too much time with that!" (Referring to Hyper).

All: "Ooooh!"
*********************************************************
Pitbull enters the garden on the roof, where Sally is standing. He argues with her about a plant she's put there, cause he's in charge of what goes in the garden. Sally finally says that the plant she put there is a memorial from the Blue Watch for Joe. Pitbull still doesn't want it to go where she put it and moves it into a different position. They agree it looks better where he put it. Pitbull talks about Joe, saying he didn't like him much but he was a good fire fighter.
*************************************************************
Some of the guys are outside in the appliance bay. Adam goes out to his car. He's talking about all his little jobs he does and one of the guys spots a spray in the car. Adam explains that it's after shave that proves irrisistible to the opposite sex. When some of the guys walk away, Hi - Ho asks Adam whether he can buy any. After a while Adam gives him some.
**************************************************************
Sally is moping the floor in the locker and shower rooms when Sean Bateman, Red Watch's Commander, walks in. He's eating mints and tells her that he's trying to give up smoking and that he'd been dragged into work for the photo shoot to mark the official opening of the new station. Sean tells Sally that he's seen the tree for Joe and that he likes it. He tells Sally that everyone on Red Watch miss Joe, including Pitbull in his own strange way. Sean asks Sally if she's heard from Dan and she tells him that she got a post card saying that he was in Thailand a couple of weeks ago.
**************************************************************
Commercial Break...
**************************************************************
Geoff and Maggie are walking upstairs and enter the mess, then into the kitchen area. The cooker is broken and Geoff goes to look at it, but can't seem to work out what's wrong with it. Maggie starts discussing Fiona and brings up the subject of Fiona having big feet, so giving birth shouldn't be a problem. Maggie asks if she could go and see Fiona and asks Geoff's opinion if Fiona would mind her turning up. Geoff says that she'll probably be glad of the company. Geoff leaves the mess.
***************************************************************
Outside the youth's flat, in the corridor they're spray painting on a banner sheet and winding up their neighbour Terry.
***************************************************************
Outside the mess...

Hyper is on the phone, camera goes to Geoff and Maggie talking about the cooker. Geoff brings Hi - Ho to Maggie, telling her that Hi - Ho used to be mess manager at Shadbrook, so he could go and look at the cooker.

Back on Hyper as Geoff walks off. Hyper asks the operator if he could leave a message for Geoffrey Pearce.
***************************************************************
At the block of flats, in Terry's flat.

His wife Lynne asks him where he's going, he says out. The argue as he goes towards the door.
***************************************************************
Sally talks with Sean as they walk up the stairs of the station.
***************************************************************
Grigg's is looking in a mirror in Coleman's office and they're discussing the theft that George is being accused of.

Geoff walks into the office, saying that the photographer as arrived.
***************************************************************
Maggie talks to Hi - Ho as he looks inside the cooker. She's heard the rumours about him and tells him that there's nothing to be ashamed of and that she saved herself when she was married to her first husband. He tries o tell her that the rumours are not true.
****************************************************************
The high ranked officers of the station are lined up for the photo shoot.

Hyper is watching from the doorway and Sally, Recall and Adam watch. Hyper's sent a message to Geoff's pager, timed for around that time. They watch as the second photo is taken and Geoff bends down to read the message. Geoff is moaned at and Hyper and the other laugh from the distance. Hyper is asked what it read, he reveals it said "Triplets!"
*****************************************************************
George and Adam talk about the shout from the morning as the others go up the stairs.
*****************************************************************
The youth's are still having a party in their flat. Their letter box on their front door opens and something alighted is pushed into the flat. It catches light with the spray paint cans, which they were spraying with earlier, and it blows.
*****************************************************************
Councillor Alison Hemmings is called over to stand in with the photo shoot, next to Coleman.

The alarms go off. The fax is read that there is a fire at Melvile House, the block of flats.

Both appliances are needed so the watch jump in a drive off, going through the ribbon at the entrance that was supposed to be cut for the official opening.

Coleman to Hemmings: "Not much left to cut is there?"
***********************************************************
Terry arrives back into his flat. Lynne his wife asks him where he's been. She then walks to the window and notices their neighbours, the youth's that were having the party, out on their balcony screaming cause their flat was alight. Lynne blames Terry for torching their flat. He denies it saying he was speaking to ld Mr. Schuster on the stairs.
****************************************************************
Commercial Break...
****************************************************************
The appliances are driving down the street towards the fire and Geoff gets another message through on his pager. He moans about it and asks who is responsible, no one answers.
****************************************************************
Lynne is getting ready to leave the flat with the baby.
****************************************************************
In the Schuster's flat...

Mr. Schuster walks into the bedroom where his wife is laying in the bed. They talk about the noise from the party finally stopping. Mr. Schuster gets into bed and lyes down, they close their eyes.
***************************************************************
Lynne opens her front door as she carries the baby, Terry is behind her. The fire is visciously burning in front of them.
**************************************************************
The appliances arrive at the fire scene...

Shadbrook arrive shortly after along with the police and paramedics. The youth's are screaming off their balcony and people are haging out of windows.

Hyper and Recall are sent in the fire.
***************************************************************
Terry suggests going up onto the work. Lynne doesn't want to cause she's scared of heights. Eventually she agrees and they walk up to the roof.
***************************************************************
Hyper and Recall search the flats to see if anyone is still inside anywhere. Recall knocks on a door and a young boy answers.
****************************************************************
Terry and Lynne arrive onto the roof, Lynne holding the baby and staying as far away from the edge as possible.
*****************************************************************
Recall is trying to coax the boy out of the flat, but he won't move. Recall asks where him mum is, he revelas that she's at work and he's not allowed o go out when she's not there. Recall says she'd want him to leave if she knew the flat was on fire.

Boy: "But she doesn't."

Recall calls Hyper over to help and they asort to forcing the door open, revealing lots of little children.

Recall: "God there's loads of 'em!"
***********************************************************
On the roof...

Terry calls down the everyone on the ground. Sally notices him and notifies Geoff.
*****************************************************************
Maggie goes round to Geoff and Fiona's house to visit Fiona.
*****************************************************************
Adam goes up in the Arial Ladder Platform cage to get people down.
*****************************************************************
Terry is complaining that no one is going up to the roof to get them down.
*****************************************************************
Fiona is complaining to Maggie about how much she aches and where she's in pain. They joke about Geoff, saying if she baby's anything like him, then they won't see a smile for ages. Maggie says how much Fiona's changed Geoff.

Fiona has a contraction. She thinks it's nothing at first but they become more frequent.
*****************************************************************
On the roof...

Terry suggests to Lynne that if she goes near the edge and they see that they have a baby, they might come and get them quicker. Lynne doesn't agree and won't go no where near the edge. Terry asks her to pass the baby to him and he'll go near the edge with her, but Lynne won't let go of the baby.
*****************************************************************
Recall and Hyper take hold of the kids and begin carry them out of their flat.
*****************************************************************
Maggie goes back to Fiona after looking out for the ambulance, she asks Fiona whether she should call it again, then the ambulance arrives.
******************************************************************
Recall and Hyper are carrying the kids down stairs.

Recall: "Kids, why do we have 'em ay?"
Hyper: "I think you're asking the wrong man!"
*************************************************************
Coleman arrives in the Station Commander's car to the fire scene. Hemming's walks up to him saying that a couple, the Schuster's, are still inside the fire.
******************************************************************
Shows the Schuster's in their flat as smoke fills the room.
******************************************************************
Fiona is being pushed down the corridor in the hospital in a wheel chair. Fiona asks Maggie to contact Geoff.
******************************************************************
Geoff moans about the page, that this time was sent by Maggie and not Hyper messing around.

Geoff enters the building with Recall.
*******************************************************************
In a hospital room...

Fiona is lying on a bed, while Maggie comforts her. Fiona wonders where Geoff is.
******************************************************************
Recall and Geoff search the flats.
******************************************************************
In the hospital room...

Fiona's contractions are getting stronger, she takes a deep breath of oxygen. Her water's break. Maggie runs out to get a nurse. The nurse finds out Fiona has a prolapsed cord and goes to get a doctor.
********************************************************************
Sally calls up to Terry, who is still on the roof, telling him that they're coming up to get him in the Arial Ladder Platform cage.
*******************************************************************
Geoff and Recall are still searching the flats for number 28 where Mr. and Mrs. Schuster live.
*******************************************************************
Fiona is taken down the hospital corridors on a gurney. The doctor says she needs written consent so they could preform the emergency Caesarean Section. He asks Maggie if she's a relative, she says no, that she's a friend of the family. He doctor says she can't sign for her. He said if only Fiona could sign but she wasn't in a well enough state. Fiona has enough and yells for the sheet to be given to her and she signs.
******************************************************************
Adam takes the Arial Ladder Platform cage up to Terry, Lynne and the baby.
******************************************************************
Geoff and Recall finally find the Schusters.
*******************************************************************
Terry walks onto the cage, because Lynne won't. He tells her it's ok and shows her.
********************************************************************
Sally notifies Coleman that she's been told that there are possible gas cylinder's inside the building. Sally calls up to Adam that he needs to come down, he says he's trying to get people into the cage.

Just as Lynne plucks up the courage to walk near to the cage, the building blows. Everyone below ducks and watches in horror.
******************************************************************
Starring

Coleman - Edward Peel
Pearce - Michael Garner
Recall - Ben Onwukwe
Hyper - Connor Byrne
George - Glen Murphy
Sally - Heather Peace
Hi - Ho - Fuman Dar
Adam - Sam Callis

Sean Bateman - Dominic Taylor
DO Griggs - Simon Merrells
Alison Hemmings - Liz Crowther
Maggie - Shirley Greenwood
Pitbull - Al Hunter Ashton
Flatty - Mark Leadbetter
Steve Prentiss - Scott Lane
Ron Schuster - John Ringham
Judith Schuster - Eileen Essell
Terry - Lee Whitlock
Lynne - Louisa Bradshaw White

**********************************************************
Review

I thought this episode was a good start to the new series. We find out what happened at the end of the last series. Sadly Sicknote and Joe died and Dan left the brigade to travel. We were introduced to the new members of the watch, Ronnie "Hi - Ho" Silver who we knew from the last series, after he transfered from Shadbrook and ladies man Adam Benjamin.

Two fire's in the episode. One house fire and then the big fire at the block of flats that we'll have to wait for the next episode to see the outcome.

We also have a new posh station, which is very nice and a new appliance, the Arial Ladder Platform instead of the normal two pumps that they had previously.
*********************************************************
Quotes of the episode

My favourite quotes and happenings from the episode...

Quote 1: George when a man walks out in front of the ALP and waves it down - "What do you think this is? A bleeding bus!"

Quote 2: Geoff to the woman in the car, who's having contractions - "How frequent are the contractions?"
Woman - "All the bloody time!"

Quote 3: Hyper about Geoff when Fiona goes into labour - "He's probably timetabled it!"

Quote 4: Pitbull to some of the lads - "What are you lot hanging around for?"
Recall - "We were waiting for you to get up those stairs so we could see you manly thighs."
Hi - Ho - "Phwoar!"
Pitbull - "You've been spending too much time with that (pointing at Hyper)"
All - "Oooh"

Quote 5: Pitbull about a knome, which lives in the garden - "Norman the gnome is no longer gnome - less."

Quote 6: Recall to Hyper - "Kids, why do we have 'em ay?"
Hyper - "I think you're asking the wrong man!"
*******************************************************

Back to the SERIES GUIDE