‘What’s happened?’ she asked, going straight over to him.
‘A private plane has crashed onto the old brewery in the town centre. Apparently, it was heading to Barton airport near Manchester but the pilot reported that they were experiencing engine problems.’
‘Oh, no! They renovated the brewery a couple of years ago and turned it into luxury apartments. Heaven only knows how many people are living there now.’
‘Incident control is liaising with the police to try and establish that. It’s not going to be easy, mind you. At this time of the year a lot of folk could have gone away to visit relatives or even be on holiday.’
‘It’s going to be a major task,’ Molly agreed. ‘So what’s the plan? Are you declaring it a major incident and calling in extra staff to deal with the casualties?’
‘I don’t think I have a choice.’ Sean grimaced. ‘On Christmas Eve too. I really will be popular.’
Molly left him to speak to the switchboard, who would phone everyone on the list of staff who were down to attend when something like this happened. She called the rest of the team into the office and quickly explained what had happened. By the time that was done, Sean had finished and came to find her.
‘Incident control has asked us to send a team to the site. You and I will go, obviously, but we could do with another nurse plus a doctor to make up our numbers. Who do you suggest? I know Steph is on her way in but I can’t take her. Apart from the fact that she hasn’t done the necessary training, it will leave us short in here.’
‘Jayne will be the best person to accompany us,’ Molly replied, referring to Jayne Leonard, one of their most experienced staff nurses. She frowned. ‘I’m not sure about another doctor— Oh, how about Mac—James MacIntyre, remember him? He used to work here. He’s not only done the necessary training but he dealt with all sorts of incidents when he was working overseas for that aid agency. The experience he’s gained from that could be very useful.’
‘Great! I remember Mac from when I last worked here. He was a first rate doctor too.’ Sean frowned. ‘How come he doesn’t work here any longer?’
‘He’s moved to the new paediatric A&E unit. He’s senior registrar and, rumour has it, he’s tipped to be their next consultant when their current boss retires next year,’ Molly explained, leading the way to the store room.
‘Really?’ Sean unhooked a waterproof suit off its peg and started to pull on the trousers. ‘I didn’t think that Mac was the sort to settle down in one place for very long.’
‘He’s changed a lot since he and Bella got married,’ Molly told him and laughed. ‘They have a little girl now—she must be almost a year old, in fact. And, according to Bella, Mac is a doting father!’
‘Well, that’s great,’ Sean said, trying to ignore the pang of regret that pierced his heart. He had ruled out the idea of having children after what had happened with Claire, yet all of a sudden he found himself envying the other man. How wonderful it must be to have a wife and a child to love and cherish.
He drove the thought from his mind as he gathered together everything they might need. An incident like this could create all sorts of problems and he wanted to be as prepared as it was possible to be. Once he had made arrangements with the switchboard to contact Mac, he led the way out to the front where a rapid response car was waiting to ferry them to the old brewery. Ambulances had already been dispatched although more could be called in from neighbouring health authorities if they were needed.
It took them less than ten minutes to reach the brewery and Sean’s heart sank when he saw the state of the place. The plane had struck the roof of the building, causing it, along with several floors beneath, to collapse. The fire department was pumping foam onto the burning jet fuel but the right hand side of the building was ablaze. There were groups of people dotted about, some standing and others lying on the ground. The place looked like a war zone and he realised that his most pressing task was to get everyone organised.
‘Right, guys, gather round.’ He waited until everyone had assembled at the side of the car park. ‘I doubt if we’ll be allowed inside the building until they have got that fire under control so we’ll deal with the people out here first.’ He turned to Molly. ‘If you and Jayne can sort out the most seriously injured that would be a huge help. I’ll check with the incident commander to see if they’ve managed to find somewhere to house the casualties. Then we can round them up and get them away from here.’