Wick firefighters celebrate 50th year of station with community day
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HUNDREDS of people turned out in glorious sunshine on Saturday to celebrate the 50th year of Wick’s fire station.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) mobile museum was one of the main attractions at a community open day organised by the local firefighters.
The event was opened by former station officer Bruce Simpson, who was part of the Wick crew when the station was built in Martha Terrace in 1969.
A range of stalls had been set up at the rear of the building, while inside there were displays of old photos and logbooks.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Heritage Trust brought a 1980s fire engine, and the event was well supported by other emergency services.
“It has been a great day," said acting watch manager Hugo Ross.
“Kids, old folk, future firefighters – we’ve had them all. The museum has been brilliant, and the 1985 Scania fire engine has been a crowd-puller as well.
“The airport fire service, the coastguard service, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, all the other partner agencies have been here, and the public has been brilliant.”
Hugo said it was a fitting tribute to have Bruce Simpson opening the event.
Bruce (77) said: “I was the fourth station officer in this fire station and I served 25 years.
“It’s great to see the museum and the heritage trust here – these are all volunteers. They’ve really enjoyed their day and they say the hospitality they’ve had is second to none.
“It has been a fantastic day.”
Bruce was given an insight into the changing technology used by the fire service.
“We used to have road maps – now they’ve got a screen and they push buttons and it can tell them exactly where to go,” he said. “The equipment on the appliance is very high-tech now – but it still takes water to extinguish a fire!"
Dave Farries, one of a three-man team who took the mobile museum north from Edinburgh, said: “The mobile museum started in 2016 and it has been on the road ever since then. The idea is that we can take it anywhere in Scotland to let people see that we care about preserving our heritage.
"We go to communities where they might never get a chance to go to a fire museum, so we’re bringing the museum to them.”
By early afternoon more than 350 people had been inside the mobile unit, which features a series of screens showing historical presentations, as well as a range of artefacts including mannequins in old fire kit.
It’s very much a family of firefighters that we have, and there’s a strong bond between them.
Rab Middlemiss, the Inverness-based local senior officer for the Highland area, travelled to Wick via a Fire Fighters Charity car wash in Dornoch.
“It’s great to recognise the service from the Wick crew after 50 years in this location,” he said.
“There have been a lot of old retired members coming along and reminiscing about some of the incidents that they’ve attended. The camaraderie they’ve had as local firefighters serving their community is getting carried on through the generations.
“It’s very much a family of firefighters that we have, and there’s a strong bond between them.
“From the numbers attending, it really emphasises how much the fire station in Wick is part of the local community.”
