A PROBLEM solving exercise presented to Bovey Tracey’ firefighters saw them create a ‘marble run’ worthy of the town’s popular attraction, the House of Marbles.

Outside-the-box thinking was the order of the day, as crew from Bovey Tracey Fire Station were tasked with transporting a tennis ball from the on-site drill tower to a coffee mug on ground-level.

Joined by their esteemed colleagues from Buckfastleigh Fire Station, the crew had at their disposal any and all equipment from the town’s appliance and station building to complete the task.

There were a few rules, however.

The final contraption had to in some way incorporate water, the crew could not interfere once the tennis ball was released and all tools, including the tennis ball, had t be hauled aloft.

The crew used a 135 ladder to pitch over an obstruction to the drill tower while building an improvised dam at the bottom.

A SHACS line and salvage sheets were used to launch the ball into the water filled dam.

Hard suction was used in conjunction with water delivery to guide the ball into a modified traffic cone and, finally, into the mug.

‘This exercise tested the crews ability to improvise and use numerous pieces of equipment to reach their goal’ a spokesperson for Bovey Tracey Fire Station said.

‘We have to acknowledge our friends at Buckfastleigh Fire Station who demonstrated their own method of completing this drill which gave us the inspiration of trying it ourselves.

‘Maybe another station would like to take on this challenge?’ the spokesperson added.