Lincolnshire firefighter heroes return from Turkish earthquake rescue mission

Four Lincolnshire firefighters and Colin the search dog have returned home after their deployment to Turkey, assisting the victims of the devastating earthquakes.

As part of an international search and rescue mission to help survivors of the two large earthquakes in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, four Lincolnshire firefighters were deployed with a 76-strong team from the UK.

They were Group Manager Ashley Hildred, usually based at Nettleham, Sleaford Crew Manager Colin Calam, Lincoln South Crew Manager Mark Dungworth and experienced dog handler Neil Woodmansey, with his search dog Colin.

The earthquakes measured at 7.5 and 7.8 on the Richter scale, with a reported 41,000 fatalities as a result of the horrifying natural disaster.

The Lincolnshire team were sent out to Turkey on Tuesday, February 7 and returned to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, February 15. They have now shared their experiences of the harrowing scenes in Turkey, collectively agreeing that it is unlike anything they have seen before.

Ashley Hildred, Group Manager at Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Ashley Hildred left his Nettleham base behind to help others in Turkey, and he spoke of “mixed emotions” brought on by the mission – blending the pride of being on the frontline for victims and families, but also the agony of what he saw.

“There’s real apprehension there knowing that you are leaving your children and family behind to go across there, but it’s what we train and prepare for. It’s a really good experience to do that.

“You can see the pictures and videos, but it’s an experience you can’t recreate and that no training will prepare you for.

“The human interactions, heartbreaking stories and difficult conversations you have with people that have lost everything, it’s a challenging circumstance to be in and probably the most difficult part of the deployment.

“Those conversations and moments will stay with me for a long while.”

Lincoln South Crew Manager Mark Dungworth. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Similar emotions were shared by Mark Dungworth, the Lincoln South Crew Manager who was also a part of the international search and rescue mission.

He said: “I don’t think unless you saw it for real you’d appreciate the scale of it. The area that was our sector was approximately two miles long, with four or five buildings that varied from skyscrapers to ten-storeys that had just collapsed.

“There were people at every building wanting help, but some were realising that hope was lost for their families. Having to tell people we can’t help them when they’re in the most desperate need anyone could ever be in, it’ll definitely stick with you.”

Colin Calam of Sleaford Fire Station. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Sleaford Fire Station’s Crew Manager Colin Calam was another of Lincolnshire’s firefighters to head out to Turkey, and he recalls seeing the damage get worse and worse the closer you got to the centre of the city.

“The roads were cracked so we couldn’t drive certain routes, and once you got to the city we were working in, it was absolutely mind-blowing. The scale of it is just out of this world.

“In this country we would stick at a job until it is complete, but when you are in a situation like that you have to focus on saveable lives – it’s a remarkably tough decision.

“That’s the part that has affected me most, telling people you couldn’t help them, moving on, rinse and repeat. By the end of the day it really does get you down.”

Another Colin on the mission, Colin the dog, became somewhat of a local celebrity during his time out in Turkey, searching far and wide for missing people and even picking up a paw injury and missing tooth along the way for his troubles.

The story of Colin is even more remarkable, though. He began as the pet of Neil Woodmansey’s stepson, and was brought to Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue in a bid to improve his obedience as a young pup.

Colin the dog stole the headlines during the deployment. | Photo: The Lincolnite

However, it turned out that he had all the attributes required to be a search dog, so a series of training programmes prepared him for the scenario.

Fast forward to 2023, and Colin was on the frontline helping those affected by the Turkey earthquakes, and while the bravery of the firefighters has been rightly recognised – they acknowledge that Colin would always steal the headlines in a nation of dog lovers.

Neil Woodmansey’s story of arrival in Turkey is also a peculiar one. Two days before deployment, he was sat waiting for a flight to Miami for a holiday cruise around the Caribbean, but that was cancelled and the holiday was subsequently cancelled – so he returned home.

48 hours later, news of the earthquakes hit the press and Neil was selected as one of the Lincolnshire firefighters on the national search and rescue mission in Turkey.

Neil Woodmansey and Colin the search dog are back on British soil. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Neil said: “It’s been an unusual week for sure. I went to Pakistan back in 2005 and also to Haiti on earthquake recovery missions, but the absolute devastation in Turkey was unbelievable. It looked like the place had been bombed.

“It felt like it was just job after job, within two hours of us starting, Colin the dog had been on about 15-20 separate jobs in the area to locate missing people.”

Speaking with a smile about his four-legged colleague Colin, Neil said he was really proud of the work he managed, especially given the injury he picked up.

“Even on the day of his injury he carried on searching, he’s a little bit mad but he’s fantastic at what he does and a vital part of the team.

“He’s a great character and is so brave, the areas he goes into are unbelievable. He’s so lovely, people have been talking about medals for him and what have you, but all Colin wants is a chewy ball and a stroke.”

Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer at Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue’s chief fire officer Mark Baxter said he was “enormously proud” of the local firefighters who were deployed, saying it is reflective of the great work being done in our county.

Mr Baxter said: “We have a really good history of international deployments, our training site at Waddington is being designed based on previous deployments so we have a very well skilled team within Lincolnshire that have often been at the forefront of events like this.”

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