Establishment 2000

HISTORY OF SOUTH QUEENSFERRY FIRE BRIGADE

With the large Naval Base of Port Edgar on its doorstep, it was not un-natural that South Queensferry looked towards the base for protection from accidents, natural disasters and so on. And so it was that, from the end of the First World War until 1927, the provision for the extinction of fires within the Burgh were left in the safe hands of the Royal Navy. At this time, the Firefighting Protection both for Port Edgar and South Queensferry consisted of a motor driven Merryweather Pump which was kept at Port Edgar and was manned, when needed, by the Dockyard police. And, indeed, on at least two memorable occasions during this time, it was necessary to call on their services.
In 1924 the Paraffin Store in the old railway goods yard caught fire and the resulting spectacular blaze spread to several other buildings before being contained while in 1927, another blaze destroyed Docherty’s the Joiner’s premises in Clark Place.
After 1927, the Navy ceased to act as protectors and the Town Council purchased various items of firefighting equipment and kept them in the Town Hall.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, the Burgh was allocated a Trailer Pump (a Drysdale) and it was kept in premises in Shore Road. A Ford V8 was used as a towing vehicle and the crew included such names as Alec Beck, Frank Kenny, Willie Walker and John Mawdsley (John at this time was a Messanger).
During the latter part of the war, the slaughterhouse in Rosebery Avenue was vacated and the A.F.S. crew moved in.
On return to Local Authority Control after the war, a crew supervised by Leading Fireman Wilie Walker was formed and they were allocated an Austin Standard Towing Unit with a Covenrty Climax Trailer Pump. Other members at this time included Alec Paton, Alfie Smith, Louie Roberts, Johnny (Tober) Smith and Tommy Gill.
In 1949 the largest ever fire in the history of South Queensferry occurred when at 7.29 p.m. on Friday, 29 April a call was received to the Distillery. The building was well alight when the South Queensferry Firemen arrived and it was necessary to call on reinforcements from Edinburgh and the surrounding area. However, in spite of a long and hard fight, the buildings and their highly flamable contents, were destroyed.
Sub Officer Willie Walker was succeeded in 1966 by Sub Officer John Mawdsley. During John’s term of appointment, a very serious fire occurred at Hopetoun House which required 7 Pumps, 1 Turntable Ladder, 1 Emergency Tender and 1 Foam Salvage Tender to enable the fire to be contained after arduous and protracted firefighting. The fire occurred on 10 March 1973 and required 7 jets, 3 hose-reels and 30 Breathing Apparatus Sets to be used and was initially attended by the Queensferry crew with Fireman Cummings (now Leading Fireman) in charge. Due to the expertise, courage and professionalism of the crews, the majority of the historical exhibits were saved.
Sam Brown succeeded John Mawdsley in 1975 and is the current Officer in Charge.

SOUTH QUEENSFERRY FIRE STATION

South Queensferry Fire Station is situated on Rosebery Avenue, formerly Hospital Road, to the south of the town. The original part of the building was formerly the property of the Earl of Rosebery but was sold in 1923 to a family of butchers who used it as an abattoir.
The South Eastern Fire Brigade took over the property in 1952 and extended it to the rear, to accommodate a fire appliance.
Instead of demolishing the existing building, it was decided to retain and extend it to provide a new fire station meeting current requirements. The building is thus fairly domestic in scale and retains the original slate roof. The white painted render has been replaced with white chip dry dash render for low maintenance. The site is entirely hard surfaced for easy maintenance and the windows incorporate vandal resistant polycarbonate sheet instead of glass.

The station contains the following accommodation:-

Appliance Bay, Workbay and Store
Watchroom/Office
Switchroom/Store
Muster/Locker Area
Dirty Area
Drying Area
Male and Female Washrooms and Toilets
Lecture Room
Kitchen

Heating is by electric tubular heaters and convectors and water heating is instaneous. Particular attention has been paid to designing a heating control system to ensure that heating is only provided at times it is actually needed.

SOUTH QUEENSFERRY’s FIREMEN 1981

Sub Officer S. Brown
Leading Fireman A. Cumming
Fireman J. Hume
Fireman R. Lennox
Fireman D. Paterson
Fireman M. Pauley
Fireman G. Smith
Fireman J. Smith
Fireman W. Smith

SOUTH QUEENSFERRY’s FIREFIGHTERS 2008

Watch Manager: Vacant
Crew Manager Kenny Mercer
Firefighter Derek Stenhouse
Firefighter Paul Watson
Firefighter Colin Clapperton
Firefighter Wayne Forrest
Firefighter Ernie Hinks
Firefighter Ash Ainslie
Firefighter Stevie Murray
Firefighter Colin Scholan
Firefighter Norman Brown
Firefighter Ali McKenzie ( F/T at Liberton )
 

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