Establishment 2005

Unit opened 1957? And by time 1975 arrived it had been disbanded under the South Western Area Fire Brigade

Unit opened 1988 Under Dumfries and Galloway Fire Brigade.

DRUMMORE FIRE STATION

Drummore Fire Station was officially opened on Monday, 20 December 2004. Cathy Jamieson, MSP, Minister for Justice, carried out the curtain drawing ceremony.
The list of guests was long and distinguished including local dignitaries, members of the public and many Fire Brigade Officers.
The firefighters from Drummore and their families all turned out to officially accept their station and appliance and to mark the occasion they received a rather nice glass momento.
The event was a great success and fortunately we were also treated to some excellent weather with the sun shining brightly. The weather was so good the Firemaster apologised for the sun shining through the windows!
The ceremony consisted of the official handover of the station by the unveiling of a plaque by Cathy Jamieson and the presentation of gifts to firefighters from Drummore. A demonstration by the firefighters was next with a simulated door entry into a burning building and rescue.
The large crowd was suitability impressed by the demo, which created quite a lot of media interest.
After this everyone was treated to a light buffet to round off the event.
Cathy Jamieson had other appointments that day but I feel sure she left Drummore with the knowledge that Dumfries and Galloway Fire Brigade are doing a first class job for their local communities.

DRUMMORE AUXILIARY

FIREFIGHTER UNIT

As most of you will know Drummore is set in the picturesque far South Western tip of Scotland, near the Mull of Galloway (well worth a trip to see if you haven’t already been). The natural beauty of the area is only matched by its remoteness. Its nearest retained station is Stranraer more than 20 miles away, about 30 minutes in a fire engine. The population in the Drummore area totals about 430. The principal employment in the area is in agriculture, fishing and tourism.
In the summer the population rises steeply because of the many visitors that this lovely part of Dumfries and Galloway attracts.
The people of this area are entitled to suitable emergency fire cover just as much as people from Dumfries, Glasgow or Edinburgh. For this reason a volunteer unit was set up in 1988 but only had very basic arrangements.
Their equipment was a trailer with a pump and other basic firefighting tools with no garaging facility. The firefighters were alerted by telephone and one would pick up the trailer with a private vehicle and tow it to the incident.
About 18 months ago it was decided these arrangements were unsuitable and the volunteer unit was taken off the run. This was obviously unsatisfactory and it was decided to set up a new unit on a more formal footing.
The local community was asked to provide 12 volunteers and some 30 applications were received. Firefighters were recruited with Sub Officer Peter Beck appointed as Officer in Charge of the station and Leading Firefighter Hew Drummond as his second in command.
They began their training in firefighting skills at Stranraer Station. This was followed up by BA training done by our training department and since then they attend fortnightly drill nights for continuation training.
A building in Drummore was found which was suitable for a small fire station. The address is CailinessRoad, Drummore. It was a former store and after minor refurbishment has provided a garage area large enough to house the appliance and trailer, a small kitchen/training room, office and toilet/shower facilities. There is also a small yard outside with future plans to develop this area for training. The firefighters are mobilised by an alerter and the station is fitted with a printout for turnouts. There is also a computer and phone line fitted in the station to assist with communications.
The appliance is based on one of the Toyota 4x4 vehicles, which was already in the Brigade. The rear of the vehicle was fitted out with a high pressure fire fogging system and 100 litre water tank. It can also be used with an additive to make the system even more efficient. This is on a sliding tray to assist with access. The tray is also fitted with a bracket to hold two BA sets. Other tools such as hose, hearth kit and breaking in gear are fitted on shelves in the vehicle.
There is a portable VMDS system, which is taken to incidents in the vehicle and also used for training in the station. On the outside of the vehicle there is a 7.6m triple extension ladder fitted to a specially made bracket on the roof.
The vehicle is used to transport a crew to an incident and allow them to fight fires inside and outside of premises. The vehicle size is ideal for the narrow country roads in the area and also gives them an off road capability for grass/heath fires.
For other incidents a twin axle Ifor Williams Trailer is provided and fitted with a light portable pump, more hose, beaters and other small gear.
The commitment made by the Brigade shows the determination to have a suitable emergency unit in Drummore well into the future.
A lot of hard work and effort has taken place to get the unit up and running and all involved should be complimented on what they have achieved.
(Two articles from Dumfries and Galloway Fire Brigade Newsletter Edition 4.)

Drummore’s new fire station
now open for business 

Drummore has its own fire station.
On Monday the building in the old cold store in Harbour Road, was officially opened by Scottish Executive Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson.
She heard Regional Firemaster David Wynne say that 18 months ago the future of the voluntary fire fighting unit in the village looked far from rosy.
Housed in the former Ministry of Defence workshop adjacent to the old Coastguard station which has been totally refurbished. The station boasts garage facilities for the Toyota truck and trailer, which carry some of the most up to date equipment available. There are office facilities, showers, toilets and a kitchen.
In his opening address Mr Wynne paid special tribute to South Rhins councillor, Grahame Forster, who 18 months ago attended a meeting in Drummore to discuss the future fire cover in the area.
At the meeting was the Firemaster and three volunteer Drummore firefighters. Then, when fire brigade control were made aware of an incident, they would notify one volunteer who then contact the others.
One volunteer using his own transport would tow the trailer containing the basic firefighting equipment to the scene. It was realised that this situation was far from ideal, and at that meeting the plan to improve the situation was formed.
That was eighteen months ago, and now Drummore could boast its own fire station, manned by seven auxiliary firefighters commanded by Sub Officer Irving Beck. Second in command was leading firefighter Hew Drummond, with firefighters Matthew Caughie, Ian Caughie, Alan Hose, Wilson Wyllie and David Anderson making up the rest of the team.
At the initial request for volunteers, 30 people responded, an excellent number considering the size of the population of Drummore. Of those, 11 passed the rigorous medical examination and seven eventually joined the team.
Mr Wynne went on to thank Dumfries and Galloway Council who had funded the project, the brigade’s local Assistant Divisional Officer for his support and provision of training and in particular for the support of the local community. Without their support the Drummore facility would undoubtedly have closed.
Ms Jamieson who revealed that she had, in her early years, been a frequent holidaymaker to the South Rhins area, said that of the 380 fire units in Scotland, Drummore was able to boast being the most southerly.
She expressed her appreciation to the local firefighters working in the area and in particular to the members of the local community who had put themselves forward as auxiliary firefighters, turning what was 18 months ago a plan, into reality.
She unveiled a plaque within the new station to mark the occasion.
Ms Jamieson then went on to present Firemaster commendations to four Gatehouse of Fleet firefighters in recognition of their rescuing a householder in Ann Street.
Mr Wynne presented an engraved decanter and glasses to the Justice Minister as a reminder for her of the occasion.
<PHOTO> Ms Jamieson unveiling the plaque.
(Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press, 23^rd December, 2004. Page 8)

<PHOTO> means there was a photo in the newspaper article, the photo is not on this WEB site.

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