E67 APPIN

1 Volunteer Support Unit

Stations

? Tynribbie
? Wooden Box, Gunn's Garage
? Tin Box, Gunn's Garage
? to 1985? Wooden Hut, Gunn's Garage
1985? to Wooden Hut, Car Park next to old Post Office, APPIN.                              Photo
30/9/2005 New Station opposite Gunn's garage, APPIN.                                              Photo
   
   

 

Firemasters

? to 1963 Volunteer Leader Ronald Black
1963 to 1975? Volunteer Leader Duncan Gunn Senior
1975? to 1998 Volunteer Leader Duncan Gunn
1998 to ? Volunteer Leader Iain MacCorquadale (there 2014)
May 2023 to Crew Commander Stuart Carmichael (there 8/5/2023)

Duncan Gunn was medically retired after having a heart attack but was later asked back as a Firefighter due to shortage of crew in the village during the day.

Appliances

 

2004                             SF04WRU            Mercedes Vario/Emergency One  4x2            VSU

 

Notes

 

1941 to 1948 National Fire Service
1948 to 1975 Western Area Fire Brigade
1975 to 2005 Strathclyde Fire Brigade
2005 to 2013 Strathclyde Fire & Rescue (Name change only.)
1/4/2013 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

2014 This unit now has Hydraulic cutting equipment (Combi Tool). Don't know when received.

 

The Western Fire Area Administration Scheme Order, 1948

  Equipment Retained Volunteers
  1 Two men manual pump 1 Fireman 6 Firemen

 

Establishment 2000

  Equipment Volunteers
  Standpipe  Hose Branch Pump etc. 1 Volunteer Leader
    9 Firefighters

 

1951 A hose box sufficiently large to hold the equipment of the Volunteer Fire Party was erected at a central point in the village.

Appin Fire Station construction contract awarded to Daniel Campbell & Sons Ltd.  £209,772. (January 2003)

The new station went operational in August 2004 and was Officially opened on 30/9/2005

When the new call signs were being implemented in the WEST SDA over a 7 week period beginning 31/8/2020 doing 1 LSO Area per week, Appin was changed from L55 to E67.

 

STRATHCLYDE
FIRE & RESCUE

Official Opening

Appin
Fire
Station

Friday 30th September 2005

 

ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS

GUESTS ASSEMBLE

PLATFORM PARTY ASSEMBLES

OPENING REMARKS
Councillor Bruce Robertson
Member of the Board of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue

OPENING CEREMONY
Councillor Joe Lowe
Convener of the Board of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue

DEDICATION OF STATION
Reverend John Murdoch

PRESENTATION OF TRAINING CERTIFICATES
Chief Officer Brian P Sweeney QFSM, D.
Univ, MA

CHIEF OFFICER’S REMARKS
Chief Officer Brian P Sweeney QFSM, D.
Univ, MA

CLOSING REMARKS

BUFFET

 

APPIN VOLUNTEER UNIT

The first volunteer unit at Appin was formed by Western Area Fire Brigade some 50 years ago.
The crewing of the unit has been very much a family affair with generations of Gunns, MacCorquodales, Carmichaels and Coltharts all contributing to the fire safety of the community of Appin.
The present leader is Iain MacCorquodale, ably assisted by his deputy, Stewart Carmichael, and nine volunteer crew members.
The unit has attended numerous fires and Road Traffic Collisions (R.T.C.’s) over the years with fairly basic equipment.
For years the wooden hut was located adjacent to the joiner’s shop and was later replaced by a metal cabinet
- both contained a two person hand-pump, hand operated siren and canvas hose. The long wooden ladder was stowed on a rack under Duncan Gunn’s house. A new hut was then located adjacent to the school.
Strathclyde Fire Board’s commitment to the community and continued service improvement has led to the construction of the new Appin Fire Station with a Mercedes fire appliance, breathing apparatus, trauma care equipment and the latest servicing facilities.

 

ARCHITECT

Fraser Harper
Property Services Department
Argyll & Bute Council

 

 

Fire station advance for Appin volunteers
by Moira Kerr

EVER since Appins volunteer fire service was established 50 years ago in an old wooden hut, it has been very much a family affair.
Generations of Gunns, MacCorquodales, Carmichaels and Coltharts have turned out at all hours to protect their community in times of need.
The same families are involved today, with Tina Scorgie, Robert MacDonald and Iain MacLeod being the only exceptions, among current members, to this dynastic tendency.
But while the families have stayed more or less the same, the premises they use have undergone major change.
Oban fire station manager John Ferris said: “The Appin and Lismore stations used to be sheds, but they have moved on from that to state-of-the-art facilities?”
Appin’s new £301,0000 volunteer fire station was officially opened on Friday night, while the nearby isle of Lismore saw its £380,000 new station opened on Saturday.
Firefighters were first established on Lismore in 1939, probably because of the military presence on the island.
The first leader was Colin Stewart, who ran two taxis, sold coal and ran the island post office.
After the war, crew numbers dwindled as a result of natural causes and in 1962 the volunteer unit was set up by Western Fire Brigade.
A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said: “Equipment consisted of a two-man hand pump, suction and delivery hose, an axe, shovel and a couple of canvas buckets.”
In 1981 the unit got its first fire station — a wooden shed to store its equipment. The current Lismore fire leader is Duncan Brooks and two of the island firefighters are sons of the original 1962 unit. They are Donald Black’s son Gilleasbuig and Bill Willis’s son Mark. Councillor Joe Lowe, convener of the Board of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, said: “Volunteer firefighters are a credit to their communities. They are prepared to devote time to protect lives so it is up to the board to make sure that they get support.”
(Press and Journal, October 3, 2005.)

 

 

 

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

 

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