fire – Filey

Filey’s TV Reception Scheduled to Return by 28 August

William Rusling — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 09:30:34 +0000

Televisions and radios in Filey are still without any signal in the wake of the fire that engulfed the Bilsdale transmitter. Whilst some services have been partially restored to parts of County Durham, for Filey and most of North Yorkshire it will be 28 August before the television pictures return to our screens.

It is possible to receive some channels by carrying out an automatic retune. However, viewers are being advised to retune on 28 August when the Bilsdale temporary mast comes online.

The fire service only gained access to the base of the transmitter earlier this week and work is ongoing to assess the condition of the mast itself. A temporary 80-metre mast is being installed, but it is the delivery of the 250 tonnes of concrete blocks, that will make sure the temporary mast remains in place once it is raised, that is critical to restoring signals on 28 August.

Area covered by the Bilsdale transmitter mast

The post Filey’s TV Reception Scheduled to Return by 28 August appeared first on Filey.

Filey Loses TV and Radio Reception After Mast Hit by Lightning

William Rusling — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 12:04:06 +0000

Television and radio reception in Filey, and across a large part of north east England, has been lost after lightning struck the Bilsdale transmitter mast near Helmsley. Firefighters were called to the mast on Tuesday after an engineer working on the site reported a fire within the structure.

The 1,032 foot mast was photographed with flames pouring from it and television and radio signals were lost to nearly a million people across the north east. From Tadcaster to Seaham, Filey to Bishop Auckland, viewers found their TV screens blank.

Although the fire was quickly extinguished, concerns about the structural integrity of the mast has seen North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service place a 980ft exclusion zone around the mast.

Operator Arqiva said it would bring in temporary equipment, but could not say when services would be restored. A spokesman said: “Our teams are currently mobilising temporary equipment to site however we are unable to provide specific timelines for restoration of any services.”

The services affected include:
Channels on the PSB1, 2, 3, COM4, 5, 6, 7 and LTV television multiplexes
BBC Radio Tees, BBC Radios 1-4 and BBC DAB
Commercial radio stations SDL, North Yorkshire DAB, BAUER Teesside, Digital 1, TFM, Capital, Heart and Classic FM
Sky, Freesat and cable services are not affected.

Area covered by the Bilsdale transmitter mast

The post Filey Loses TV and Radio Reception After Mast Hit by Lightning appeared first on Filey.

USS Bonhomme Richard’s Fire Blazes For Four days

William Rusling — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 12:05:09 +0000

After four days, the fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard has finally been extinguished. Forty sailors and twenty-three civilians were injured in the fire that broke out on 12 July. As the United States Navy launches an investigation into the cause of the blaze, it is unclear whether the amphibious assault ship can survive the damage.

The Bonhomme Richard has a place in the hearts of Filey people, as she is named after the famous USS Bonhomme Richard that fought a battle in Filey Bay in 1779. In America the ‘Battle of Flamborough Head‘ is widely seen as the birth of the US Navy. The 1779 Bonhomme Richard sank in Filey Bay and it is thought that her remains lie in fairly shallow water towards Bempton.

Efforts are being made to reinforce links between Filey and Calvert County, Maryland, in the US. It is hoped that the possible discovery of the wreck of the Bonhomme Richard will bring tourists from the United States to Filey on a regular basis. Although the Corona Virus pandemic has slowed the work, it is still very much high on the agenda of the town and its people. The crew of the USS Bonhomme Richard had been closely following the search for the wreck of their predecessor and there were hopes that one day the current USS Bonhomme Richard might visit Filey Bay. Clearly those plans have suffered a major set back.

The current USS Bonhomme Richard was commissioned in 1998 and is among the few US warships from which an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can operate from. The F-35s are being jointly built by the US and Britain and these are the planes that are based on the two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. Indeed, HMS Queen Elizabeth was spotted off Filey a couple of weeks ago, undertaking an exercise with her F-35 jets.

Repairs to the USS Bonhomme Richard are likely to be lengthy and would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but a new ship could cost as much as $4bn. Helicopters dropped 1,500 containers of water onto the ship and tugs sprayed the ship’s side to cool it during the blaze. The large quantities of water used in the operation have caused the ship to list.

Fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Christina Ross)

Thankfully no one died during the fire and of the sixty-three personnel injured, mainly from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, none are thought to be in a life-threatening condition. We can only give thanks for that. Once again, the thoughts and prayers of Filey go out to the crew of the USS Bonhomme Richard and the personnel who fought the fire.

The post USS Bonhomme Richard’s Fire Blazes For Four days appeared first on Filey.