Establishment 2000

                                                                    Equipment                                                                                             Retained

                                                                    1 Water Tender Ladder                                                                       1 Sub Officer
                                                                                                                                                                                    2 Leading Firefighters
                                                                                                                                                                                    7 Firefighters

Station Officers were in charge of retained stations until 1975 when the new Central Region Fire Brigade decided they didn’t want Retained Station Officers and all new Officers in Charge had the rank of Sub Officer. Existing Station Officers retained the rank until they retired.

Spa’s New Fire Station Opened 

<PHOTO> A general view of the new £21,000 fire station at Bridge of Allan which was officially opened on Tuesday by ex-Provost M. Kelly, J.P., chairman of the Central Area Fire Brigade Committee

 Bridge of Allan’s new retained fire station, costing £21,000 to build, was officially opened on Tuesday afternoon by Councillor Michael Kelly, J.P., Stirling, chairman of the Central Area Fire Brigade Committee. Mr Robert Kerr, vice chairman of the committee, presided.
Councillor Kelly expressed his delight at being invited to perform the opening ceremony. The committee, he said, had experienced distractions and set backs in their efforts to provide a new fire station for Bridge of Allan but these had been gradually overcome.
The members of the Central Fire Committee were not conservative in their thinking; they wanted the smaller burghs to be given the very best and their fair share of the equipment available. It was not their policy that only the larger towns be given the best of everything.
There were, he said, other stations to be built and he hoped that they would not be stereotyped and that they would have their own distinctive architectural characteristics.
There had been incorporated in the station a recreation room for the men and he hoped that those people who groused about the efficiency of the fire service would realise that they had to make the station worthy of the men who manned it.
Mr Samuel H. Park, Central Area Firemaster, expressed his delight and satisfaction with the new station. He hoped that the people of Bridge of Allan would also be pleased with what had been provided for them and not only for them. The Bridge of Allan Fire Brigade was  also meant to help out in the Hillfoots area when the need arose. One of the main ideas behind the fire service was that it should be flexible.
Mr J. D. McNicol, H. M. Inspector of Fire Services, who was at one time resident in Bridge of Allan for five and a half years, recalled the inadequacy of the previous fire station in the burgh and how difficult it had been for the men to study there. This was no longer the case and he hoped to see Bridge of Allan firemen get to the top in the service. When he had been in Bridge of Allan no one thought then that there would be a University built near the burgh but this factor alone made the need for a new fire station imperative.

TRIBUTE TO FIREMEN

Provost Peter T. Millar, Bridge of Allan, said that while praise must be given to the present fire crew it was only right that they should pay tribute to the fire crews who had served the burgh in the past and who had been Scottish champions in their section from 1956 – 1964, and who had also reached the finals of the British Championship. This new station could well be regarded as a tribute to these men.
Councillor Kelly presented long service and good conduct medals to the following members of the fire brigade who have completed 20 years’ service:- Assistant Firemaster D. W. Campbell, Headquarters; Assistant Divisional Officer W. H. Turnbull, East Station, Falkirk; Station Officer C. J. Cox, East Station, Falkirk; Station Officer P. J. Hunter, Headquarters; Leading Fireman A. Smith, Carrongrove; Fireman D. F. Fyfe, North Station, Stirling, and Fireman C. Pearson, North East Station, Alloa.
Fireman D. G. D. McLeod was also presented with an award of technical books in recognition of his success in the recent Fire Brigade examinations. Councillor Kelly made the presentation.
A vote of thanks was accorded to all who had taken part in the ceremony on the call of Mr J. Thomson an ex-member of the committee.

STATION INSPECTED

The guests were then invited to look around the new station which incorporates a single bay appliance room, watch room, muster bay, recreation room, with a kitchen leading off, toilet facilities and storage room. Attached to the rear of the building there is a 35 foot high drill tower.
The station is served by eight men led by sub officer John Buchanan. On show at the station was the new fire tender which will be used by the station. It is a water tender which can carry 400 gallons of water which will last up to five minutes which is more than enough time for the firemen to connect their hoses to the nearest hydrant. This new machine cost in the region of £6,000. Also on show was a new emergency tender which contains everything necessary to deal with any emergency to which the fire brigade is likely to be called – it even carries the kitchen sink. This tender, which will be based at Falkirk, cost £8,000.
Visitors were also able to inspect a Landrover which had been adapted for use in the fire service and which will be used for speeding to the scene of a car accident. After inspecting the fire fighting equipment and the new fire station the guests were provided with refreshments.
This Saturday the Bridge of Allan firemen will hold a flag day and door to door collection in aid of the fund for firemen’s widows and dependants.
(Stirling Journal and Advertiser. Thursday, July 20, 1967. Page 7.)

SPA FIREMEN FORGET THE SIREN 

<PHOTO> of 20 people.
Cups won by the Bridge of Allan Retained Fire Service during the past year were displayed at the annual dance and social held in the Royal Hotel, Bridge of Allan, on Friday evening.
On the left of the photograph fireman D. McNaughton holds the cup won by a Bridge of Allan crew in competitions for retained firemen from the Central Fire area held at Clydebank, and on the right, Fireman A. Ferguson holds the Jean Brodie cup awarded to the station collecting the most money for the Fire Service Benevolent Fund.
Guests included Fire Master F. H. Park and Mrs Park, ex-Provost M. Kelly, O.B.E. (Stirling) and other officer-firemen and their wives.
Seated from left to right in the picture are Leading Fireman T. Heggie and Mrs Heggie, Firemaster F. H. Park and Mrs Park, Mrs J. Buchanan and Station Officer J. Buchanan. Mr Buchanan and Mr Heggie together with the firemen at the station were responsible for organising the evening during which dancing to a three piece band and games were enjoyed.
(Stirling Journal. February 12, 1970. Page 4.)

If you know of any mistakes in this or have any additional information please let me know.

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