Milngavie's new £152,000 fire station was opened on Wednesday afternoon, the result of years of pressure. and hard work by the Central Fire Area Joint Committee, Milngavie Town Council and the County Council of Dunbarton.
After the formal opening by the committee's chairman, Councillor Michael Kelly, O.B.E., J.P., Provost Mrs. Mary Blacklock told the gathering of firemen, officials, and wives: "This is a great day for Milngavie. We have waited years for this."
Mr. Kelly referred to the opening as a milestone in his career and recalled the hardships experienced in the earlier days when the committee tried to fulfil their promises and especially the difficulties in procuring suitable land on which to build.
He mentioned the days when the old fire Station was full of leaks and the firemen had to bale out their fire station before, they could get their fire engine out to attend fires.
"Now we are 100 per cent satisfied," said Mr. Kelly, "but we had to ginger up the contractors and the local authorities to get it."
But the result was, he said, a first class fire station, and one of which the contractors and architects could be proud.
"I am sure too, that the people of Milngavie will be very satisfied but it must not be forgotten that all the people of Dunbartonshire contributed to it."

GOOD CALIBRE

As for the firemen, the brigade had a good calibre of men, machines and equipment. It was hard luck that soon the whole lot would be handed over to the new Strathclyde Region.
The Firemaster, Mr. Samuel H. Park, O.B.E., Q.F.S.M., C.I.F.E., who lives in Bearsden, also had something to say on this transfer of the future.
Formally accepting the new Fire Station into his charge, he said: "I would have preferred to have seen the fire service left as it is. We could have carried on as we were, but we have the men that they must not worry about transfer to the Regional Authority. They will not be involved in ramifications of this sort."
He paid a glowing tribute to his men, full and part-time. "After all," he said, "it is they who go out to put out the fires, not me."
Mr. Park, who retires from the service next year, said he considered the new Fire Station as good and as well equipped as any in Britain and told of the two other new stations to be built at Vale of Leven and Helensburgh, the completion of the vast Fire Station building programme, with those at Alloa, Stirling, Cumbernauld and now Milngavie completed. In addition two part time stations are to be built at Balloch and Balfron.
"And all but the Balfron one will find themselves soon in Strathclyde Region", he added.
In her vote of thanks to all concerned Provost Mrs. Mary Blacklock referred to the old days when the part-timers had done so much during the war. In charge then had been Mr. Frank Preston, once Milngavie's Burgh Surveyor, who had at that time been the first Auxiliary Fire Area Commandant. She was happy to see Mr. Preston present at the ceremony and told the audience of the old fire engine which had carried a large brass bell.
Then came a pleasant surprise for all present, for Mr. Park then declared that when he sold the old fire engine Mr. Preston had insisted that the big bell be removed and held in safety until the day of the coming of the new station in Milngavie.
He then pointed across the large room and to a velvet canopy over a large object attached by a bracket to the wall of the muster room. He invited Mrs Blacklock to go over and unveil that very bell. This she did and gave it a resounding clang that shook the room and everyone in it.

OLD NFS

Mr. Preston later brought back memories of the early days when he had been a member of the selection board which had been responsible for overseeing the changeover from the Auxiliary Fire Service to the wartime National Fire Service. He had been with them when they went to fight the Clydebank blitz, then to Belfast when that city suffered its war time holocaust.
Another surprise during the ceremony came, when came when Fire Master Park produced from a large envelope two miniature fire helmets, perfect in every detail including the badge. These he handed over as mementoes to Mrs. Blacklock and Mr. Kelly.
Following the ceremony the guests witnessed a display by the firemen, when ladders were shot up to the top of the station, tower and a man (part-timer Tommy Douglas) was rescued from a fire caused by plastic aflame. For this the firemen had to wear special protective clothing and demonstrated their skill learned in the station's special "gas" chamber.
<PHOTO> Firemaster Samuel H. Park.
(Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, September 13, 1974, Page 1)

There was an advert in the Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, September 13, 1974 for firemen, with a starting pay for a Fireman £34.43, after two years Leading Fireman £49.48 and within five years Sub officer £51.10. Applications were to the Firemaster, Central Area Fire Brigade, Meiklehill House, Kirkintilloch.

The opening of Milngavie's new fire station last week was in the form rather of a social function, when wives and sweethearts of the firemen saw their menfolk's new and ultra modern surroundings.
This week, with the crowds gone, readers are able to see just what they and the other residents of Dunbartonshire are paying for, to the tune of about £117,000. Of this, £12,500 goes on each of the two fire engines (or appliances as they are called) and £35,000 for the up-to-date equipment and other items needed to make the fireman's life a happy one.
Until now Milngavie has had only a "Retained Station" manned by local men on a part time basis, who are alerted at their homes or places of employment in the event of need, and who manned a four wheel drive Land Rover appliance, backed up by a second appliance from Clydebank Fire Station, some six miles distant and with a normal attendance time of some ten minutes.
It has been known for some time that the existing station in Crossvegate has been well below the standard normal for the Central Area Fire Brigade and that, with the increase in residential accommodation with in the burghs of Bearsden and Milngavie the community need warranted arrangements in excess of this, and accordingly, negotiations have been going on for some time with Milngavie Town Council for the acquisition of a suitable site for a new fire station. This site was eventually made available on the west side of Milngavie at Craigdhu Road in 1967 and, on the completion of negotiations in 1968, work was commenced on planning the new fire station.

PREVENTION

Apart from the operational, that is, purely fire fighting aspects of fire service work, particular emphasis has, over the last year or two, been placed on the need for involvement of fire service personnel in fire prevention work and in addition with advances in technology, on realistic technical and practical training. The station has been designed with those particular needs in mind using the most up-to-date equipment and constructional technology.
The Station Watchroom, which is manned 24 hours round the clock, is the nerve centre at which all fire calls are received, turnout instructions are issued for the information of officers in charge of appliances and provides the communications link between fire appliances and Brigade Headquarters on the Brigade's radio network.
This is achieved by GPO telephone lines and a radio telephone link which terminate on an operations console into which is included the remote controls for the various station alerting systems. Accommodation is provided immediately behind the console in a switchroom for the various components of the systems and communication access has been made from the Watchroom direct to the Appliance Room for the passing of incident turnout instructions and the necessary technical data in respect of hazardous chemicals, etc., for the officer in charge of fire appliances.
Access to the Watchroom is through the General Office, which has been deliberately designed this way in order that there will be no possibility of the concentration of the duty men being distracted by outside activities.

HEART

The General Office can be considered as the working heart of the station from which Junior Officers control the day to day personnel involvement in the various station tasks.
It is hoped that the new Milngavie Fire Station in course of time will be totally integrated into community life and provide a centre where not only emergencies can be dealt with, but also for the provision of information so very necessary for the general public to protect themselves from the realities of fire. It is felt that the new civic awareness of personnel can make a valuable contribution to the, populace of both Milngavie and Bearsden and its immediate environs by creating a better understanding of the Service and by their own conduct set an example that could well be emulated.
The Appliance Room houses three appliances and garage accommodation for an additional appliance is provided in an adjoining building. Adjoining the Appliance Room is the Muster Bay where firemen are detailed their various fire fighting duties and appliance positions at change of watch, and on the other side is a stores area where the various materials necessary to rekit appliances after use are held.
This complex consists of a Foam Store where the protein foam used for fires involving flammable liquids is held, the Hose Store where reserve stocks are kept and, adjoining this Store, the station Workshop which has the added function of a Hose Repair Shop. Beyond the Workshop is the Breathing Apparatus Maintenance Room where air cylinders used on breathing apparatus sets, for fire fighting and training purposes, are re-charged and the breathing sets are maintained.

SOCIAL CENTRE

The Dining/Recreation Room is of the conventional Brigade pattern and separated by a folding partition which provides for a large area capable of meeting the internal recreational needs of the station personnel and indeed has been designed in such a way that the station can become the social centre for its personnel with all the obvious benefits.
Adjacent to and beyond the Recreation Room is the locker accommodation area and ablutions suite. This has been designed in such a way that firemen returning from a fire can enter the station through the scrub area which allows them to remove building debris, carbon and so on collected on their persons during fire fighting operations before proceeding to the Drying Room where wet uniforms can be racked and dried off. Beyond the Drying Room is the shower area, which is so very necessary when one considers the adverse heat conditions to which firemen are subjected in addition to the grime invariably picked up during fire fighting. This leads to the locker accommodation where lockers are provided for all personnel for the storage of clean uniforms and clothing. This is essential since the modern fireman has considerable pride in his appearance and it, of course, follows from this that it is always necessary to ensure that a sufficient standard of issue is made to personnel to enable them to maintain their own personal and Brigade standards.

SPECIAL FEATURE

A special feature is the provision of a Breathing Apparatus Training Chamber which is located to the rear of the Appliance Room.
On the first floor is located a dormitory area with accommodation for ten personnel and the watch officer. A traditional "sliding pole" linking with the Appliance Room is located opposite the dormitory door. Adjoining is provided a Lecture/Quiet Room, this part of the accommodation not only provides for the continuing technical education of the personnel but is used extensively by firemen studying for promotion grade examinations or other matters of personal interest.
Beyond the Lecture Room is an open air Instruction Deck designed so that it fulfils a practical training and in addition provides a platform for overall viewing of the drill ground. Visiting members of the public can view practical drills and watch firemen at work.
To the west of the Instruction Deck/Viewing Platform is the station Drill Yard on which is located the Drill Tower. The tower is necessary for practical training exercises and in addition provides a location for the testing of ladders and other equipment.
<PHOTO>
The three fire fighting appliances based at the new station are shown in this picture of the appliance room. At the far end is the watchroom and to the right of it, hidden from view by a fire engine, is the muster bay where the firemen's fire fighting uniforms hang in readiness.
(Two Bedford TK appliances, one with a yellow? stripe and the word FIRE in it, and Land Rover SMS681.)
<PHOTO>
Fireman Ian Smith (standing) and Tommy Wright go over a report in the Station Watchroom which is manned round the clock. This room is the centre of communications between appliances and Brigade Headquarters and also provides information for the officers in charge of appliances.
<PHOTO>Sub Officer John Brown (centre), who lives in Bearsden, poses with Firemen Peter Hay and Alexander White of Milngavie. All three were presented with Long Service and Good Conduct Medals at last week's opening of the new Milngavie Fire Station.
<PHOTO>
The Station's dining and recreation room contains a snooker table, telepartition. The room provides a large area capable of meeting the internal recreation needs of the station personnel.
(Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, September 20, 1974, Page 10.)

National Fire Service

The Clerk submitted the following report for 1946 by Area Commander A. McMaster of the National Fire Service.
Fire Calls
Twelve calls for fire were received and attended, a reduction of seven on the 1945 figures. These fires were all of a minor nature, and no serious loss from fire occurred within the burgh of Milngavie. All calls were attended to by a full time crew from Maryhill Station, Gairbraid Avenue, Glasgow.
Retained Fire Service
Efforts were continued during 1946 to recruit suitable men to bring the retained fire service up to ten, the authorised strength for your burgh. I regret having to report that I have not yet been successful with these efforts. There are still four vacencies for men of the right type who reside near the fire station.
Appliances
There is at preent within the burgh of Milngavie at the Fire Station one Home Office type large trailer pump, one Home Office type light trailer pump, and one Local Authority towing vehicle. These appliances are tested at regular intervals and any maintanance carried out.
(Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, February 1, 1947.)

The Fire Service
Initial attendance from North West (Glasgow Fire Brigade) and Clydebank who will releive North West on arrival. He further reported that the organisation at Milngavie itself is undergoing re-organisation and recruitment and that they had now acquired accomodation on the premises at the Autoport Garage on the Glasgow - Strathblane Road and he has every hope that once this unit is functioning it will be able to supply a faster turnout from Milngavie than either the Glasgow or Clydebank units. I trust this information will be to the satisfaction of your Council.
(Milngavie and Bearsden Herald, July 3, 1948.)