Incident
Flooding - Tunbridge Wells
Incident details
Fire officers have been sent to a number of weather-related flooding calls in the Tunbridge Wells area. Over 60 calls to 999 were received from various locations between 2.30am and 3.30am. Callers stated that there was significant flooding with up to 1 metre of water in some properties.
KFRS sent three additional fire engines to the area as a precaution, while incidents were prioritised and sent to officers to assess incidents.
In flooding incidents, an officer is usually sent to assess the situation and determine what, if any, KFRS resources including fire engines, are sent to the scene. In some cases, if the flood water is receding, or there is no immediate threat to life or property, officers may decide to divert available resources to other incidents.
Two of the calls stated that people were trapped in properties and water rescue crews from Tonbridge were sent due to a risk to life. Thankfully there were no injuries and on arrival fire crews determined that no rescues were required.
Firefighters pumped out some properties and carried out humanitarian assistance. They also requested the attendance of the Red Cross Vehicle as well as local housing providers. KFRS worked closely with other emergency services, local authorities and housing providers to make sure anyone affected received help.
The water thankfully subsided rapidly and at 4.30am the service began scaling down its response, although crews continued to remain in attendance pumping flood water out of some properties and assisting with customer care.
Safety advice for flooding can be found on the KFRS website at www.kent.fire-uk.org/flooding
Special and Support vehicles
