ELGIN’S NEW FIRE STATION OPENED
Only One of Series, Says Chairman 

The modernising of fire stations and equipment all over the North East was forecast by Councillor John Collins, Aberdeen, chairman of the North Eastern Fire Area Joint Board, when he officially opened Elgin’s new fire station yesterday.
He said it was hoped that the erection of the Elgin station would be followed by the building of other stations at places throughout the Board’s area at which the existing fire service accommodation was inadequate.

High Priority

“There are some twenty further places at which the Board desire to erect new stations,” said Councillors Collins, “and instructions have been given to the Board’s architects and the firemaster to inquire as to the possibility of acquiring sites at Dufftown, Lossiemouth, Huntly and Portsoy. These places stand high in the order of priority, while negotiations are proceeding for the acquisition of a site at Forres.”
The majority of the new stations contemplated would be used for accommodating a single appliance, and a type plan illustrating proposals for the erection of buildings suitable for that purpose had already been approved by the Board and by the Scottish Home Department, he added.
(Press and Journal Friday, June 12, 1953. Page 6)

By Fiona McPherson

The fire service is something we all take for granted – until we come to call on it ourselves, Deputy First Minister Mr Jim Wallace said at the opening of Elgin’s new £2.5 million fire station.
The recent appalling events in America brought home to everyone, in the most tragic of ways, the debt of gratitude we owe the fire service, he told the official opening ceremony.
"That service can indeed involve sacrifice and we should never lose sight of that," Mr Wallace stressed.
The Minister for Justice was taken on a tour of the modern facility at Wards Road and watched a drill and training exercise carried out by the combined crews of Elgin City wholetime and retained, volunteers from Gordonstoun and the Elgin City Fire Cadets.
Accompanied by Grampian Firemaster Mr John Williams, Chief Inspector of the Fire Service Mr Denis Davis and chairman of Grampian Fire Board, Councillor William Traynor, Mr Wallace watched as the firefighters raced to tackle the flames and billowing smoke which engulfed the training block.
He spoke to all those who had taken part to learn more about their roles, before being taken around the main station building during Friday’s visit.
Mr Wallace was then called on to unveil a plaque marking the official opening of the station. It replaces the previous base at Haugh Road which had become too outdated to meet the needs of the current fire service and the people it serves.
In the 1970s, the population of Elgin was around 16,000. Over the years the town has developed significantly with an increase in population of 25 per cent to over 20,000 and a corresponding increase in the commercial sector and industrial infrastructure.
The brigade explains that as a result of the highly effective development partnership, which includes Grampian Fire Board, the local authorities of Moray and Aberdeenshire along with Robertson Construction, Elgin City now has a community fire safety unit and state of the art training facility designed to modern standards and which will address the needs of the brigade and the community into the foreseeable future.
Mr Wallace spoke of how impressed he was by the excellent facilities. "It was self-evident a new facility was needed to meet the needs of the 21st century," he said. "In the year to March, 435 emergency calls were responded to at Elgin. Many people undoubtedly owe their lives to your rapid response.
"It is important to remember how easily fire can start. A carelessly discarded match, a chip pan left unattended. The whole community has to be alert."
In the same 12 month period, 69 people in Scotland died in fires in their own homes and though the figure was well down on the previous year, it was still far too high, Mr Wallace continued.
Of those fatalities, 11 had smoke alarms fitted but no batteries in them. Smoke alarms are cheap and simple to fit, and they save lives.
Mr Wallace said he was sure the citizens of Elgin and the surrounding area could be proud of their fire brigade. "You have a fire service which is seen as successful and well managed," he continued.
"We all hope we would never be calling on them but we rely on them to provide the best service. It is important we don’t let our firefighters down. They are entitled to good facilities and equipment."
It was to the credit of the Grampian Fire Board that investment had been made at Elgin, Mr Wallace had said earlier, adding there was no substitute for being able to train in first class surroundings.
Elgin’s new complex represents years of planning and research and is a measure of how the board has responded to the changing needs of the community, said Firemaster Williams.
"The facilities will not only be used by those at Elgin but by those at Moray’s other stations," he added. "This will be a significant improvement to travelling through to the training facility in Portlethen."
Guests were served refreshments by members of the WRVS and tribute was paid to the volunteers who have assisted the brigade at incidents and exercises over the years. Before leaving, Mr Wallace was presented with a ceremonial axe by fire cadets Cheryl Houston and Stuart Ramage, both from Elgin.
<PHOTO> Deputy First Minister Mr Jim Wallace chats to members of Elgin Fire Cadets after officially opening Elgin’s new fire station. NS Photo
<PHOTO> Mr Wallace is presented with a ceremonial axe by Cadets Stuart Ramage (14) and Cheryl Houston (15), both from Elgin, to mark his visit to open the new fire station at Elgin. NS Photo

£2m boost for ‘vital’ training

Moray can now proudly boast one of the most up-to-date fire stations in the country, designed to the highest standards to address the needs of Grampian Fire Brigade and the communities it serves.
From tackling flames roaring along a ceiling from a chip pan fire in the training block to running through a hi-tech computer simulation where the decisions you take mean the difference between life and death, the £2.5 million facility is a breakthrough in training facilities.
Elgin’s firefighters had to wait many years after outgrowing the confines of the previous station in Haugh Road to finally move into their new home on Wards Road at the end of February.
From an original crew of 12 back in 1953, Elgin now boasts over 40 staff who operate a 24 hour four watch system to provide the people of Elgin and Moray as a whole with a strategic resource reflective of a modern fire service.
Averaging 500 call outs a year, almost half the incidents occur between 6pm and 8am.
Training is vital and the new station provides the ideal practice ground. The star attraction is the training block which features an LPG gas system which fires up real flames and smoke to put the firefighters through their paces in as realistic yet safe environment as possible.
The fire is controlled at the touch of a button and the internal workings of the building means it can be used to simulate a chip pan fire, house fire or industrial blaze.
While the old station could only boast a training tower, here the block offers a hatched roof and internal vertical metal ladders, similar to the features crews would expect to find if tackling an incident on a ship, explained Senior Divisional Officer Bob Bain.
The building has a variety of windows to provide a range of different options for ventilating and, unique in Grampian, there are two working chimneys to simulate chimney fires.
Strict safety regulations means the building must be heat and smoke free in a matter of minutes, and hugh compressor fans are installed.
The training block also features a garage and is alongside a mock road junction where scrap cars are used to mock-up road traffic accidents where the fire brigade may be called on to free casualties, put out fires and contain spillage.
Training facilities at Haugh Road gave little opportunity to develop skills, said SDO Bain.
"There are a number of young people joining the service and because we don’t get as many fires as we used to-because the safety message is getting through-there is a greater need for training than ever before," he said.
The Wards Road complex also features a lecture room with video conferencing facilities for planning exercises or de-briefing after incidents.
There is also a well equipped fitness room where the crews undertake regular sessions with fitness levels being regularly monitored.
It is hoped that in the long term this will lead to a reduction in the number of firefighters taking early retirement on ill health grounds.
The new computer simulation is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment at the station but it is also reckoned to be one of the most cost effective.
With constantly changing scenarios, officers are put in charge of handling incidents where they decide how and where to deploy crews and equipment.
It will be used by officers from all of Moray’s stations, being particularly important for those at the less busy ones, and the actions they take are reviewed at the end of the exercise.
<PHOTO> Mr Jim Wallace unveils a plaque watched by chairman of Grampian Fire Board, Councillor William Traynor, and Assistant Divisional Officer Dave Thewliss, officer in charge at Elgin. NS Photo
(The Northern Scot, Friday, October 5, 2001. Page 1.)

Fire Station Farewell 

<PHOTO> Long-serving Elgin Fire Brigade retained Sub Officer Mr. Willie Bain (centre left), receives retirement gifts from the Brigade’s youngest recruit in Elgin, Freman James Cameron (centre right). Willie’s wife Anne was presented with a bouquet. Looking on are friends and colleagues. 

BUT THE BAIN FAMILY LINK REMAINS UNBROKEN 

Ask about the Fire Brigade in Elgin and most folk will tell you about the Bain family who started the service at the express wish of the Lord Provost in1898 and who still play an active role today.
On this occasion one member of that family — Willie of Bibby Place, Elgin — was honoured by his colleagues at the station to mark his retirement from the brigade after 40 years service.
Willie’s parting — at the age of 60 — has in itself created a little bit of history, adding yet another feather to the cap of a proud family who have risked life and limb for almost a century for their fellow townsfolk. This long service record, which saw him join at the age of 20 and rise through the ranks of part-timers to become Sub Officer in charge of the stations retained section, is something which can never be equalled.
Anyone joining the part-time Brigade nowadays must retire at 55, so could not possibly have the length of service to beat Willie’s record.
Fittingly, Willie’s place will be taken by his brother George, himself a fireman since 1954. The men are also partners in a slating business in the town, the roots of which go back almost as far as their connections with the fire service. It was their grandfather who, on returning to Elgin following a brief spell with the Northern section of Glasgow Fire Brigade, started it all. Grandfather Bain had climbed to the rank of fire officer during his time in Glasgow and when asked by the Lord Provost and prominent local businessmen to get a fire-fighting team together he lost no time in recruiting his brother Hugh.
Next in the Bain ‘dynasty’ to join the brigade was Willie’s father, George, who joined in 1922, serving as a leading fireman in the then North Eastern Fire Brigade until his retirement in the mid 50’s.
During his 40 years Willie has been involved in some of the most spectacular and tragic fires ever to hit Elgin. He was on the scene when the tannery in Lossie Wynd was razed to the ground in the 1950’s; when Woolworth’s store on the High Street caught fire one April holiday and tons of foodstuffs had to be dumped; when Newmill Woolen Mills went up in 1956 sending flames licking high into the sky which could be seen for miles around; and on a Boxing Day when a fire raiser set Fleming’s Sawmills on Linkwood Road ablaze.
More recently Willie led his men as they battled to save the then Smith’s Toy Shop on South Street, Elgin; and the Ex-Servicemen’s Club at the East end of the town centre.
He was also called out to help when gas cylinders exploded in a store at the rear of a Fochabers grocery in 1963 sending explosions ripping through the town. One cylinder crashed through a roof of a house some distance away and another landed in the school playground. Happily no-one was injured.
But Willie’s proudest moment undoubtedly came in 1976 when, in the Birthday Honours, he was awarded the British Empire Medal for distinguished service to the community.
He received the award from Moray’s Lord Lieutenant Captain Iain Tennant and it still takes pride of place on his mantelpiece today.
When interviewed he admitted to being a little sad at hanging up his helmet, but he was obviously touched that his colleagues had recognised his service by throwing a party in his honour at the town’s Park House restaurant.
During the function a special presentation was made to him by James Cameron — a fireman who joined the Elgin Station almost 40 years to the day after Willie signed on. A miniature whisky cask and a set of cut crystal glasses were handed over in addition to a shield from the brigade.
Paying tribute to Willie, Elgin station commander Mr. Iain Morrison said ‘His service to the community over the years has been truly invaluable’.
In true Bain family tradition two of Willie’s sons are firemen. Both are in the full time ranks, David as a station officer at King Street, Aberdeen, and Robert as a leading fireman in the staff department at Brigade Headquarters in the oil capital’s North Anderson Drive.
<PHOTO> Some of Willie’s friends and colleagues who attended the party to mark his retirement.
(An Elgin newspaper?) 

Father of Moray town firefighting dynasty dies 

An Elgin slater who dedicated more than 40 years of his life to the town’s fire brigade, and was awarded a British Empire Medal for his distinguished service to the community, has died, aged 83.
William Bain joined the service aged 19, and went on to work 42 years, earning himself the title as the longest-serving retained firefighter in Britain.
His brother, George, also served in the brigade, as did his father, grandfather and great grandfather.
In fact, the family’s association with Elgin fire brigade stretches back more than 100 years and, in the very beginning, the Bains were the town’s fire service.
William’s great grandfather George founded the service in 1898 after moving to Moray from Glasgow to start a slating business.
He had served for a time with Glasgow fire brigade and, not long after his arrival in Elgin, he was approached by the provost of the day and asked to establish an official brigade in the town.
William followed in his great grandfather’s footsteps, not only in the brigade, but also in continuing the family slating business — George Bain and Sons, located at Mayne Road.
Born in Elgin in 1923, William was educated at East End Primary School. After leaving school at 14, he spent a short time working as a milk boy, before training to become a slater under his father’s watchful eye.
In 1970, following the death of their father, William and his brother, George, took over the family business.
For many years William worked tirelessly as a slater, while performing his duties as a fireman alongside, being on call 24 hours a day. In 1976, he was awarded the BEM for his distinguished service to the community. He retired from the brigade in 1984, and the family business in 1992.
William married the late Annie in March 1947, and they went on to have five children, David, Lorna, Robert, Neil and the late William.
Until recently, both David and Robert were full-time serving members of Grampian Fire and Rescue Service.
David retired from the service in 2001 as assistant divisional officer, and was the last Bain family member to be in charge at Elgin. Robert retired last year as the ex-deputy chief for Grampian.
They said yesterday their father, who died on March 21 at Cathay Nursing Home, Forres, was a well-liked man, known by many people.
“He was a person everyone knew,” said David.
“He could never walk down the street without stopping to speak to someone. He had time for everyone, and had a great sense of humour.”
A funeral is to take place today at the W G Catto Funeral Home in Elgin at 11am.
(An Elgin newspaper?)

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