As we mentioned earlier this year, an Isle of Wight firefighter will be undertaking a gruelling challenge to raise money for a specialist piece of medical equipment.
Kelvin Wright, a Watch Manager at Ryde Fire Station, will cycle over 100 peaks of mountains in the Pyrenees in just 10 days. He’ll average around 200km a day and climb over 4000m each time.
He’s aiming to raise £5000 to pay towards a medical scanner called a T.O.E probe. T.O.E stands for transesophageal echocardiography and gives doctors images of a patient’s heart. It can be used to diagnose heart problems at an early stage.
Kelvin said the challenge has a very personal meaning for him, saying “One of the main reasons for me doing this is in memory of my friend and colleague Paul Fletcher, who suffered a fatal heart attack on a shout two years ago. He was just 39 years old.
“Firefighters based at Ryde Fire Station and aiming to raise a total of £30,000 in partnership with the ‘Friends of St Mary’s’ to purchase the TOE probe and also two ECG machines, but this is my personal contribution to that target.
“It is certainly going to be tough, but I am a keen cyclist and am looking forward to it.”
Kelvin’s challenge will take place between 12 – 22 September.
Meanwhile, Ryde Fire Station will be holding an open day on Saturday 13th August between 1300 – 1700. Among the activities will be a junior fire challenge, a car-crash rescue demonstration and a Tae Kwando display.
The IW Fire Rescue Service is also helping crew at Ryde Fire Station make final preparations to its ‘A Wight Carry On’ challenge which starts on Friday 19th August. Teams from Ryde will carry a big red ladder from Ryde seafront, walking around the Island and calling in at all ten fire stations. They will finish back at Ryde where they will be part of Ryde Carnival’s processions on Saturday 20 August from 1700 onwards.
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