Establishment 2000

The Staff are split over four watches (Red, Blue, Green and White) 1 Station Officer, 1 Sub Officer, 1 Leading Firefighter and 11 Firefighters working 2 days, 2 nights and 4 days off. Water Tenders are normally manned 5 and 4.

Establishment 2006

The Wholetime establishment is split over four watches (Red, Blue, Green and White) 1 Watch Manager, 2 Crew Managers and 11 Firefighters working 2 days, 2 nights and 4 days off. The Forward Control Unit is manned by the crew off the second.

AREA CONTROL TO CUMBERNAULD....MOBILISE....HOUSE FIRE AT 117 JOHNSTONE ROAD....NO FURTHER DETAILS....EMERGENCY..

HAIR RAISING

Once the machine is on the road, the race to an incident can be hair raising, particularly for a new recruit. Sub Officer Baird, a father of five, said: "There's no time to be lost. And when you're new to the service it's very exciting. Once you've been in the job for a while, though, you get used to it.
"You're normally too busy pulling on your gear to take in the scenery. And once you arrive, you've got to size up the situation as quickly as possible."
Sub Officer Baird, who was in the Glasgow Fire Brigade for 14 years, went on: "As a part timer, you encounter different problems, including having to get up at odd hours to answer an alarm, or leaving your work at a minute's notice.
"But you get used to that too. It's part of the job. In Glasgow we used to work shifts, sometimes as much as 82 hours a week."

KILLER

Fire is not always the killer. Sometimes it is the more innocuous smoke. Sub Officer Baird said: "Some of the most dangerous spots I have been in are smoke filled buildings. Sometimes, you've got to go in quickly and haven't time to put on breathing apparatus. It's very easy to lose your bearings if the smoke is thick. And that's the time you can easily panic-a mistake that can be fatal."
He went on: "After a difficult job you come back to the station feeling satisfied if you have done well-and also very tired. We felt satisfied after the St. Lucy's fire. We had worked very hard."
The firemen in Cumbernauld feel themselves lucky as far as equipment goes. Station Officer McNab said: "Cumbernauld was designed largely with safety in mind. All the buildings are new, and all built with the sanction of the Fire Brigade as far as handy supplies of water and the like are concerned.
"There are fire hydrants everywhere in the town to augment the 400 gallons carried in the engine. These 400 gallons are more than enough to put out a normal house fire and for anything larger we can easily find other sources of water."
Station Officer McNab is also very pleased with the timing of building a new fire station in Cumbernauld. It should be open within the next month. He said: "As Cumbernauld gets bigger, there are bound to be more fires and more incidents. This is the right time to build a new station. Not after a major incident occurs and there aren't enough men locally to tackle it.
"The new station will have one engine with a full time crew but the present temporary crew will man the second engine."

PRECAUTIONS

But no amount of precautions can prevent the humble chip pan fire, which causes a large percentage of the Brigade's calls.
Station Officer MacNab said "Tremendous damage can be caused by small domestic fires. It is extremely upsetting for people to see their homes damaged, even slightly."
Sub Officer Baird said: "Part of the fireman's job is to console and comfort accident victims-simply to talk to them. A man trapped in the wreck of his car needs someone to talk to."
The Cumbernauld station gets something like 600 to 700 calls a year. Some of these are false alarms but some turn out to be dangerous jobs.
Sub Officer Baird said: "Being a fireman is generally a satisfying job. But sometimes you come back from a job depressed because you couldn't do more.
"The worst thing of all is feeling that you're not appreciated. A fireman must feel he is doing a useful job or he might as well give up. The men spend a lot of time maintaining the equipment and give up a lot of leisure time for drill and calls."
And he added: "So the most important thing to a fireman is the feeling that the public are backing him."
<PHOTO> Handling a high pressure hose can be a two man job. Here two of the Cumbernauld firemen direct the jet from their engine's tank, which holds 400 gallons.
<PHOTO> A head for heights is something every fireman must have. Perched on top of the Cumbernauld Town Centre two firemen wearing breathing apparatus direct their high pressure hose during a drill.
<PHOTO> The Cumbernauld crew line up in front of their engine with all the lockers open and their array of equipment on show. Sub Officer Baird stands by the door as he receives a radio message.
(Cumbernauld News and Kilsyth Chronicle, August 9, 1973. Page 6)

EXPERIMENT

Although the total cost of the building is £112,000 a further £35,000 will be spent on equipping it.
Two new fire appliances will cost £25,000 alone and the remainder will be spent on back-up apparatus.
Cumbernauld will be leading the way in an experiment with the building of this station. For training facilities will be available. At the moment, new recruits have to use the central training headquarters.
Eventually the New Town will have two stations, with the other at the opposite side of the town from Greenfaulds.
Although the units from the new station will operate primarily within the town, they will have no specific area.
Areas are not drawn up for each unit. They operate as an area brigade throughout Stirlingshire, Clackmannanshire and Dunbartonshire. And units from nearby places such as Kirkintilloch and Denny will still be available if they are needed.
A spokesman for St. Andrew's House in Edinburgh said: "Prince Richard is in Mexico at present and details of his visit to Cumbernauld cannot be finalised until he returns to this country."
(Cumbernauld News and Kilsyth Chronicle, October 4 1973. Page 1)

Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess Richard of Gloucester will open Cumbernauld's new fire station today (Thursday).
And when the buzzer is pressed to officially open the £112,000 building, it will mean an end to the volunteer fire fighting system which Cumbernauld has known since the New Town began.
And the Greenfaulds station can claim a unique "first" for it is the only one in the Central Fire Brigade area which has a breathing apparatus training unit.
Station officer Ian McKenna, who is in charge of the new complex, said: "I hope that the new fire station and the men who work here will soon be integrated into the community in Cumbernauld.
"The fire station staff are not only here to fight fires but to help prevent fire also. We are here to assist people and give advice." he added.
The station will have 28 men full time firemen with three appliances. The part time firemen who have worked in Cumbernauld will still be employed and will be liable to be called out to back up the full time crews.

NERVE CENTRE

The station watchroom is the nerve centre for the whole building. This is manned 24 hours a day to take incoming alarm calls.
These are received either by phone or radio telephone and even sometimes from the automatic alarm systems which are installed in many of Cumbernauld's larger factories.
The station watchroom will also store technical data on houses, factories and shops in the New Town. Firemen will begin to collect this information in the near future to help them in an emergency.
Adjacent to the station is the unique breathing apparatus training block.
This is a three storey building which has moveable walls which can be adapted to simulate most types of buildings. This is then filled with smoke and sometimes a fire is started, giving firemen real training in saving people from smoke filled buildings.
The bottom deck has been designed to give limited freedom of movement. During training sessions it will be in complete darkness and the smoke will make it even more difficult for firemen to find dummy bodies which are planted before the start of the exercise.

SAFETY ALARMS

But adequate accesses have been built in should a fireman get into difficulties.
Electronic pressure pads have been fitted to the floor. When they are touched lights flash in the control room on the first floor. This means that a record of the firemen can be kept.
Six microphone and loudspeaker units have also been incorporated so that instructions can be given to the men inside the smoke filled building and their breathing checked.
Built into the roof of the bottom deck are four simulated ship's hatches while on the second floor there are moveable partitions which can be swapped around giving firemen training in all types of domestic fire conditions.
Another unique feature of the fire station is the "warbler" alarm system.
Instead of the usual bell ringing throughout the station when there is an emergency a "warbler" noise will ring through a loudspeaker system which has been fitted in every part of the building.
To the right of the main building is the bay for the three fire appliances.
Other features include a kitchen, dinning room, showers and changing area, stores, an open air instruction deck, a drill yard and training tower and dormitory accommodation for 11 people.

EXERCISE

After pressing the buzzer to declare the fire station officially open the Prince and Princess will watch the firemen carry out exercises in the main yard.
Then two of the three appliances and their crews will tour the town.
The part time fire brigade attended approximately 300 fire in the New Town last year.

Cumbernauld's new fire chief is 39 year old station officer Ian McKenna.
Father of four, Mr McKenna, a native of Falkirk, will be in charge of the new station, its staff and appliances.
Before he moved to a new house at 4 Abbotsford Place, Greenfaulds, Mr McKenna lived in Kirkintilloch where he was a staff officer at the Central Area Fire Brigade headquarters.
Earlier in his career, Mr McKenna, who has been a fireman for 12 years, was a sub officer in the Falkirk and Alloa area.
He said: "We are looking forward to settling into the new station and getting to know the people of Cumbernauld.
"We will be out and about in the New Town in the near future advising people on fire prevention and also looking at factories and business premises ourselves as well as houses.
"This will be of great help to us. We are in a new area with new building designs and we must get to know all about houses, factories and shops. Then if there is a fire, we will know the best way to tackle it," added Mr McKenna.
He went on: "Because of the complexity of the Town Centre it presents problems as far as fire fighting is concerned.
"The industrial growth of the New Town has attracted firms manufacturing everything from underwear to plastics. All these firms present their own special type of hazard for firemen," He added.
<PHOTO> Station Master Ian McKenna stands outside the new £112,000 station which will be opened by the Royal couple today (Thursday).
<PHOTO> Fire chiefs discuss a problem in a training exercise at the Greenfaulds Fire Station.
<PHOTO> The nerve centre of the station is the control room where emergency calls are received.
<PHOTO> Up goes the escape ladder in an exercise in the New Station's yard in Greenfaulds. A similar display will be mounted for the Royal Couple today (Thursday).
<PHOTO> High up on the tower at the new fire station one of the firemen goes through his paces during a training exercise.
(Cumbernauld News and Kilsyth Chronicle, Thursday, November 8 1973. Page 7)

Prince Richard of Gloucester praised the gallantry of the Scots firemen who tackled the £2 million tar works blaze at Camelon, Falkirk, last week.
Speaking at the official opening of Cumbernauld's £112,000 fire station on Thursday, he said: "It's a sobering thought that two of the men from this station were admitted to hospital and three quarters of the brigade strength saw action on that day.
"I understand this was one of the biggest fires in the area for many years and would like to express my sympathy to all those who were injured, especially those from this station."
He praised the "efficient and gallant" men for tackling what he described as a terrible blaze.
Referring to the new station itself, he said it was "More than just a garage" but a complete headquarters for fighting even the threat of fire.
"This station is as up to date as the town itself," he continued. "This is the first station of this size to have such comprehensive facilities and I am glad to hear that all future stations will be built in the same way."
The station can claim a unique "first" for it is the only one in Central Fire Brigade Area which has a breathing apparatus unit.
In the specially designed three storey building all types of fires can be simulated and the exact position of each man in training is plotted on a control monitor.
The station-opposite Greenfaulds Sports Centre-brings to an end the volunteer fire fighting system which Cumbernauld has known since the town began.
But Prince Richard said he was pleased that the part time firemen who do such as "invaluable" job for the community would be kept on.
Although there are 28 full time firemen and three appliances now serving Cumbernauld, the part time firemen are still liable to be called out to back up the regular crews.
Chairman of the Central Fire Area Joint Committee, councillor Michael Kelly of Stirling welcomed the Royal Couple to the station. He told distinguished guests that he was sure the Prince who is a professional architect would take great interest in the design of the building and the town.
Minutes earlier they had been met in the drill yard by the Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire Robert Arbuthnott, Central Area Firemaster Sam Park and Station Officer Ian McKenna who is in charge of the new complex.
A large crowd had gathered outside the building to greet the Royal visitors in spite of a strong wind and rain. The couple arrived just after 12 noon-about 40 minutes late due to their flight being held up.
Police motor cyclists escorted the procession of Royal cars through the town and as they approached the fire station a piper played a salute from the top of the building.

CHEERS

The Princess, dressed in a tomato red coat and matching hat with black shoes, appeared completely at ease as she acknowledged the waves of the cheering crowd.
Prince Richard inspected a company of firemen in the yard and chatted briefly to several of them before rejoining his wife for the official opening.
After speeches part time Fireman John Wilson presented the Prince with an ornamental pen holder which he had made himself from timber used in the construction of the fire station and metal from an old Stirling fire engine.
Acknowledging the handing over of the station, Firemaster Park said he could see the day when Cumbernauld would grow to require two fire stations.
Also on the official opening platform were Dunbarton County Councillor Edward Denny, vice chairman of the Central Fire Area Joint Committee, who gave the vote of thanks, Provost Gordon Murry, Chief Constable designate Mr Robert MacNeil and Mr David Campbell, Assistant Firemaster and representatives of the architects and contractors.
Nine year old Jane McKenna, daughter of the Station Officer, presented the Princess with a bouquet of flowers before a commemorative plaque was unveiled by her husband to officially open the station.
This signalled the start of a firefighting display with a wailing siren giving it a realistic effect.
The couple watched as the men went through their paces and were then taken on an extensive conducted tour of the building.
During their inspection the Princess chatted to many of the local firemen, including John McLaughlin (25) of Kirkintilloch. She wished him luck on his forthcoming marriage. He and his wife will set up home in Cumbernauld.
The Princess also spoke to Mrs Ann Gardner (22) and her fireman husband David (24) of 10F Ellisland Road, Kildrum. She had a brief conversation with them both, asking them how they liked the town and the fire station.
<PHOTO> Prince Richard officially opens the fire station.
<PHOTO> Prince Richard and Firemaster Sam Park inspect the guard of firemen outside the new station. *
<PHOTO> Lord Lieutenant (centre) introduces the Royal couple to Firemaster Sam Park and Councillor Michael Kelly (hidden). *
<PHOTO> Firemaster Sam Park and the Prince and Princess.
<PHOTO> The Princess chats to fireman McLaughlin and congratulates him on his forthcoming marriage.
( * Part of the captions guessed)
(Cumbernauld News and Kilsyth Chronicle, November 15 1973. Page 6)