THE inclusion of puppies make everything better, including, as it happens, a Teignbridge fire crew’s latest high-rise training exercise.

The great and the good from Buckfastleigh Fire Station recently took the short trip to the town’s popular open air swimming pool for the training.

The crew used the changing rooms as mock flats.

The ‘flats’ each had an occupant inside, which allowed the crew to practise its strategy when faced with a mass evacuation scenario.

A spokesperson for the station said: ‘Thank you to Buckfastleigh Open Air Pool - Victoria Park for allowing us to use the venue.

And what could make camaraderie among colleagues just that little bit better? Puppies, of course.

‘As it was hard work and we felt like a little pick me up, so Slinky visited the station after drills and brought her ten children to play.

‘Best play time ever’.