The Princess of Wales joked that she wanted to drive at full speed with the “sirens on” as she and the Prince rode in the back of a fire engine. Catherine “was wanting the sirens on” during the short drive across the training site, “but the driver was strictly told no,” according to newly qualified firefighter Caoimhe McNeice, who joined the royal couple for the ride.
“The Princess was saying, ‘I’d love to drive at the real speed and have the sirens on,’ but they were getting to the water rescue [area], it was just a bit of banter,” she added. Caoimhe, 25, and her fellow graduate Piarais McCaffery, 32, were chosen to spend time with the royal visitors after passing out as graduates in June.
“They were both lovely, great, down to earth people. It was great to showcase our Learning and Development College to them, and they were blown away by it,” said Piarais. He said William and Catherine were “very, very genuine and interested, especially with the water facility“.
“She was wanting the Prince to drive, but no, the driver got us there safely anyway,” added Caoimhe. “It was an absolute honour and privilege to be here today, as Piarais said, to represent the service today, and also it was an incredible experience being in the back of the appliance with the Prince and Princess of Wales. They were very intrigued by everything, asking questions all about the facilities, but also they were very interested with my career and myself, and asking questions about how I was getting on. It was a brilliant experience. I was taken aback and starstruck, but I had to keep my calm and keep relaxed and enjoy the moment.”
Piarais said: “The Princess had said about how ahead of the game we are, whenever we go out on live fires, we know what to do. It’s a lot safer for firefighters across all services.” Trainees practice going into live and simulated fires, gaining experience of lots of different scenarios as part of their 18-week training.
“It’s a safe environment that you’re allowed to make mistakes if you need to, and learn from your mistakes and make you feel that you’re fully ready for when you do go out,” said Caoimhe. “The Princess was saying that it’s important that every firefighter that’s come through this recruitment should get the experience of seeing the real-life exercises, so that when you do go out to the station, you’re fully qualified to meet those emergency incidents.”
Piarais said the training had made the first call out to a live fire easier because it was “not a completely new, daunting experience“.
The royal couple were visiting Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service’s £50 million new Learning and Development College, near Cookstown, County Tyrone, which opened in May. They were shown around by Chief Fire & Rescue Officer Aidan Jennings, walking past a replica village into a training warehouse where the drills were taking place.
Rescue simulator
World class facilities include a flood water rescue simulator – one of only two in the world at a Fire service training facility – and, after watching hose drills outside the warehouse, the Prince and Princess boarded the fire appliance to head there and watch the simulated floodwater rescue. The college is the largest investment ever undertaken by the NIFRS and is a training centre for all NIFRS employees. Training with other emergency service workers and partner agencies also takes place there.
Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service
NIFRS chief fire officer Aidan Jennings described the visit as “a proud and unforgettable day” for the service. “With a one team ethos in NIFRS, our personnel work together to help make Northern Ireland a safer place. It was a privilege to have our royal visitors meet many people across our Service and recognise their commitment, dedication and enthusiasm in doing so.”
“Honoured” by visit
He added: “I’m honoured that the Prince and Princess witnessed first-hand how the real-life scenario-based training facilities are revolutionising how we train and develop our people enabling us to meet the evolving needs of a modern-day Fire & Rescue Service. Our next generation of Firefighters currently undergoing their training at the college clearly demonstrated that today in their display of operational skills and capabilities. I would like to sincerely thank the Prince and Princess for their visit, their kind words, support and recognition of the work of all our people in NIFRS dedicated to serving our community and keeping people safe. I would also like to thank the Northern Ireland Office, the Executive Office and the Department of Health for their efforts and support in making this memorable visit possible.”
Having a go
William and Catherine spent the day visiting organisations that showcase growth and investment in rural areas and demonstrate entrepreneurial and creative opportunities for young people.
The couple also took part in a flood rescue drill, from the safety of the bank. Each attempted to throw a line attached to a float to rescue a “casualty”, played by an instructor, but didn’t manage to reach him as he was swept past by the current.
Action shot
Unfortunately Catherine’s attempt at rescuing the casualty wasn’t quite quick enough!
“There’s so much kit!”
The royal couple appeared fascinated by the drills taking place, with William in particular asking lots of questions about the equipment. “There are so many toys,” he said. “There’s so much kit!”
He and Catherine watched as firefighters wearing breathing apparatus pulled a dummy from a smoke-filled “shop” at the replica village and performed CPR on it. Inside the warehouse, they watched others climbing and securing ladders and practising lowering a stretcher secured with ropes from a replica rooftop.
They were also impressed to learn that the top of the main building at the college doubles as a replica of a ship’s deck, a train carriage nearby offers another realistic scenario, while a fake stretch of motorway behind it is used to train firefighters to rescue people from road traffic collisions.
“Have you got any aviation?” asked keen pilot William.
Before leaving, the couple were presented with three red “Bump” caps for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Princes Louis – baseball caps with a reinforced inner layer usually worn to tackle wildfires.
Subtle PDA
Catherine was pictured touching her husband’s back before they boarded the truck.
Royal style
Catherine brought back her dark green Alexander McQueen coat, once worn for the walk to church on Christmas Day in 2022.
