Haverfordwest firefighter returns from helping in Turkey crisis

Phil Irving, a dad-of-two who works for Mid & West Wales Fire and Rescue Service as a watch manager at Haverfordwest, has spent the past week saving the lives of those trapped in the rubble following the earthquakes that devastated the country and neighbouring Syria.

The 46-year-old was deployed to Turkey along with 76 other search and rescue specialists from across the UK’s fire and rescue services through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

He surprised his children – 14-year-old Esmei and eight-year-old Evan by arranging to have them taken out of class at Ysgol Caer Elen in emotional scenes.

He hugged his children tighter, as the distress and despair that he had witnessed hit home.

“I’ve witnessed the pain and anguish of so many people in Turkey who will never get to see their loved ones again. It really emphasises the importance of family,” Mr Irving said.

Mr Irving – who has worked as a firefighter for 17 years and has helped with the 2009 Indonesia and 2010 Haiti earthquake responses - was involved in Saturday’s rescue of a man and a woman who had spent 120 hours trapped in a collapsed multi-storey building.

Phil in Turkey. Picture: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (Image: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

“In all honesty, I do not know how to sum up the past week or so. It’s sounds like a cliché, but you are working flat and running on adrenaline.”

“My biggest takeaway when you consider what the people of Turkey are going through, is that it emphasises the importance of family. It is so easy to take our lives for granted.

“And there’s a massive part of me that is guilty that after everything I’ve seen, all the people who have lost loved-ones, that I do get a reunion with my wife and kids. One hundred per cent.

“It’s just the fact that I have had the opportunity to reconnect with my kids when so many people in Turkey and Syria can’t.

Son Evan was hit hard by his dad’s trip to help rescue the survivors of the earthquakes, which have led to more than 40,000 deaths.

“My eight-year-old boy Evan is my shadow and, unfortunately, he really struggled emotionally with me being away.

“That was tough because by definition of us doing what we want to do, to save lives as part of the UK Government’s response to help people, we actually impart a bit of emotional trauma on the people closest to us. Our families.

“It hurt me to know that Evan was upset about me being in Turkey, which is why I really wanted to surprise them at the school.

“Evan brought tears to my eyes, let me tell you. I was in reception and saw one of the teachers went to get Evan with a bit of a cover story. He came round the corner and saw me, and we had a bit of a cry together. He wears his heart on his sleeve.

“I think he was just so happy to see me that he was overwhelmed by emotion, which made me cry.”

His reunion with daughter Esme was a bit calmer, as she had experienced her dad being away for up to eight weeks at a time on other deployments.

“Esme got pulled out of class just afterwards and she was a bit calmer. We are so happy to see each other but she manages her feelings more than Evan.

“She has told me that the training, the experience I have, who I am as a person, meant that helped her to cope.

“She has a maturity that she realises that if the situation was reversed and it was the UK that had been hit by a massive disaster, we’d be hoping people from around the world would come to our rescue.”

Phil Irving, wife Lianne and children Esmei and Evan. Picture: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (Image: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)

READ MORE

• Haverfordwest firefighter helps rescue two people in Turkey
• Turkey quake victims say they have ‘lost everything’
• West Wales firefighters assist in search and rescue in Turkey

UK Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell said: “The UK Government is proud that brave Welsh firefighters and medics have been at the very heart of our efforts to help the Turkish people in their hour of need.

“Both the UK-ISAR and UK-EMT pool world-leading expertise from across Britain to make a real difference in reacting to humanitarian disasters around the globe.

“The UK Government’s priority now is to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches the thousands of families left homeless by the earthquake. It will be so vital in ensuring those affected can begin to rebuild their lives.”

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