Glasgow Fire Service

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Glasgow Fire Service provided emergency services such as fire prevention, firefighting, emergency medical services and technical rescue to Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland and the third-largest city in the United Kingdom.[1] On 16 May 1975, the Glasgow Fire Service was absorbed into the now defunct Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service.

Formation and history[edit]

Glasgow has had an organised fire brigade since around 1643, when the earliest recorded reference to the purchase of leather buckets for firefighting is found.[citation needed][2] Merchant House’s bucket money receipts 1825-31 were given to the Police commissioner for fire extinguishing, but the Trades House's receipts did not go to the police for some reason.[3]

The city appointed its first part-time paid superintendent in 1747.[4] The fire brigade was known as the Glasgow Fire Brigade until the National Fire Service was formed in 1941.

Glasgow Fire Service was officially formed on 1 April 1948, by the Fire Services Act 1947.[5] It was one of the eleven fire brigades established in Scotland after World War II, when these brigades were returned to the control of local authorities.

In May 1975, Glasgow Fire Service was absorbed into Strathclyde Fire Brigade as part of Scottish local government regionalisation.[6]

In April 1984, the Glasgow Salvage Corps shut down after 111 years of service. They were merged into Strathclyde Fire Brigade.

Key events
Year Event[7] Year Event
1652 'Great Fire of Glasgow' 1870 First steam engine purchased
1657 First 'fire engine' 1891 100% full-time staffing of Brigade
1747 Part-time fire superintendent appointed 1905 First motorised fire engine purchased
1816 Full-time fire superintendent appointed 1913 Last Brigade horses (Kelvin and Tweed) sold

Major incidents[edit]

Glasgow has a long history of major fires and other significant tragic incidents.

In 1190, a fire badly damaged Glasgow Cathedral[8][9] and on 17 July 1652, the 'Great Fire of Glasgow' destroyed one-third of the city.[10]

In February 1849, 65 people, almost all under the age of 20, were crushed to death in a panic caused by a small fire in the Theatre Royal in Dunlop Street.[11] Forty years later, on 1 November 1889, 29 young women aged from 14 to 25 were killed when the Templeton's carpet factory[12] in the east end of the city collapsed during high winds. A fire in a lodging house on Watson Street[13][14] killed 39 men and injured another 24 on 19 November 1905. The iconic Kelvin Hall, built in 1901, was totally destroyed by fire on 7 July 1925.[15][16] A fire in a fashion store on 4 May 1949, at 43 Argyle Street owned by Grafton's led to the deaths of thirteen young women, six of them teenagers.[17]

Fires continued to plague the city throughout the late twentieth century, resulting in the deaths of many more civilians and firefighters.[18][19]

On 16 March 1953, Glasgow's firefighters faced one of their most challenging incidents. A serious fire occurred at Leon & Co in Ballater Street, on the south side of the city, killing five male employees. The firefighters involved in the rescue were awarded three George Medals, two British Empire Medals for Bravery and three Queen's Commendations for Bravery[20] – the largest number of civilian bravery awards ever awarded for a single incident[21] at the time. In his annual report following the tragedy, Firemaster Chadwick C.B.E. recorded the awards as "....unprecedented in the history of the British Fire Service."[22]

Cheapside and Kilbirnie Street Memorial

After a number of major fires in commercial premises in the 1960s, the media began referring to Glasgow as the 'Tinderbox City'.[23][24]

On 28 March 1960, "the worst disaster in the peacetime history of the British Fire Service"[25] took place. At 7:15 that night, a 999 call reported a fire at 130 Cheapside Street[26][27] and three minutes later the first fire engines and a tender from Glasgow Salvage Corps arrived. The details of this fire are well documented elsewhere, but it is notable for the loss of fourteen Glasgow firefighters and five salvagemen from the Glasgow Salvage Corps, and the heroism of their colleagues. Station Officer (later Deputy Firemaster) Peter J McGill and Fireman (later Divisional Officer) James M Dunlop were awarded George Medals for their bravery. Sub Officer Charles Neeson and Firemen John Nicholson and George B Alexander were awarded British Empire Medals, and Fireman William Watters was awarded a Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct.[28] Although this event is remembered as the Cheapside Street disaster, sixteen of the nineteen fatalities lost their lives in Warroch Street.[29]

On 26 October 1962, another of Glasgow's cultural heritage buildings, the St Andrew's Halls, suffered significant damage from a major fire that left only one facade of the building intact.[30][31]

On 18 November 1968, twenty-two people died in a fire at A J & S Stern's furniture factory in James Watt Street.[32] Crews arrived within four minutes of the 999 call made at 10:31 am but could not save the occupants, who were trapped behind barred windows and locked fire escapes.

On 2 January 1971, crews from across Glasgow attended the Ibrox disaster that caused 66 deaths and over 200 injuries.

1972 saw the final chapter in the tragic loss of Glasgow firefighters. On 25 August that year, seven Glasgow Fire Service personnel died in the line of duty while trying to rescue a trapped colleague at a warehouse fire at 70/72 Kilbirnie Street.[33][34][35][36] Those killed ranged in service from just over one year to twenty-four years, with the youngest victim aged 20. The courage displayed at Kilbirnie Street led to eleven awards of the Glasgow Corporation Medals for Bravery and a Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct.

On 18 November 1972, the service was called to a fire in a disused shop in Maryhill Road. Here, Sub Officer Adrian McGill became the last Glasgow firefighter to lose his life protecting the citizens of the city. While attempting to rescue a woman who was trapped, Sub Officer McGill removed his breathing apparatus to give it to her. He succumbed to smoke inhalation and was awarded a posthumous Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Glasgow Corporation Medal for Bravery. The service rescued fifteen people from the fire by ladders and led over 200 to safety through smoke.

Excluding National Fire Service casualties caused by enemy action,[37][38] forty Glasgow firefighters lost their lives firefighting in 'Tinderbox City', from the loss of four men at W & R Hatrick's Chemical Works in Renfield Street in 1898[39][40] to Sub Officer McGill at Maryhill Road in 1972.

Glasgow's Firemasters 1809–1975[edit]

[41][42]

Name From To Name From To
Basil Aitchison 1809 1816 William Patterson 1884 1907
James Black 1816 1824 John McColl 1907 1909
James Davidson 1824 1833 William Waddell 1909 1928
Peter McGregor 1833 1835 James Marshall 1928 1936
William Roberts 1835 1847 Charles Angus 1936 1940
Charles Forsyth 1847 1849 Martin Chadwick 1940 1961
Alex Turner 1849 1855 John Swanson 1961 1965
James Bryson 1855 1884 George Cooper 1965 1975

Glasgow Fire Service: Fire Stations (as at 1974)[edit]

[43]

A Division B Division C Division
A.1 Central B.1 South C.1 North West
A.2 East B.2 Govan C.2 Knightswood
A.3 Parkhead B.3 Pollok C.3 Partick
A.4 Easterhouse B.4 Castlemilk C.4 West
A.5 Springburn B.5 Queens Park C.5 North
C.M. Fire Boat
C.6 Anderston

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Geographist". TheGeographist.Wordpress.Com. 3 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Extracts from the records: 1685. 14 December 1685. John Waddrop to make buckets". British History Online. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  3. ^ Local Reports of the Commissioners ...: Presented to Both Houses of Parliament by Command of His Majesty, Parts 2-3. Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of municipal corporations in Scotland. W. Clowes and sons. 1835.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. ^ The Glasgow Museum of Transport (1971). Fire Engines. Glasgow: The Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries Department. p. 32.
  5. ^ Fire Services Act 1947.
  6. ^ Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975
  7. ^ 'Fire Engines' The Glasgow Museum of Transport (1971) P.32
  8. ^ "Glasgow Cathedral".
  9. ^ Steven, Campbell (1975). Proud Record: The Story of the Glasgow Fire Service. Glasgow Fire Service. p. 9.
  10. ^ "Jardine's Book of Martyrs". 27 February 2015.
  11. ^ "The Music Hall and Theatre History Site".
  12. ^ "History of Templeton's Carpet Factory".
  13. ^ "Watson Street newspaper article". The Wilmington Messenger. 21 November 1905. p. 5.
  14. ^ "Watson Street fire". Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  15. ^ "History of the Kelvin Hall". Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  16. ^ Proud Record. p. 86.
  17. ^ Forbes A and Smith J (2010). Tinderbox Heroes. Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Service Retired Employees Association. pp. 13–19. ISBN 978-0-9564996-0-8.
  18. ^ Steven, Campbell (1975). Proud Record: The Story of Glasgow Fire Service. Glasgow Fire Service.
  19. ^ Glasgow Fire Service Annual Report 1974 (Page 45)
  20. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette 21.07.1953" (PDF). Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  21. ^ Forbes A & Smith J (2010). Tinderbox Heroes. Glasgow: Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Retired Employees' Association. pp. 21–23. ISBN 978-0-9564996-0-8.
  22. ^ Steven, Campbell (1975). Proud Record: The Story of the Glasgow Fire Service. Glasgow: Glasgow Fire Service. p. 105.
  23. ^ "BBC News". 16 June 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  24. ^ Forbes A & Smith J (2010). Tinderbox Heroes. p. 3.
  25. ^ Tinderbox Heroes.
  26. ^ Proud Record. 1975. pp. 115–118.
  27. ^ Tinderbox Heroes. pp. 59–90.
  28. ^ Proud Record.
  29. ^ Tinderbox Heroes. p. 66.
  30. ^ "St Andrew's Hall fire". 26 September 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  31. ^ Tinderbox Heroes. p. 36.
  32. ^ Tinderbox Heroes. pp. 44–46.
  33. ^ Kirkwood, Graeme. "Kilbirnie Street Fire". Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  34. ^ Proud Record. pp. 112–113.
  35. ^ Tinderbox Heroes. pp. 51–57.
  36. ^ Lockyear, Arthur (2011). Warriors in Fire Boots. Jeremy Mills Publishing Limited. pp. 269–276. ISBN 978-1-906600-54-9.
  37. ^ Proud Record. pp. 148–149.
  38. ^ Glasgow Fire Service Annual Report 1974
  39. ^ "Firefighters Heritage Trail". Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  40. ^ Proud Record.
  41. ^ Glasgow Fire Service Annual Report 1974 Page 26
  42. ^ Proud Record. p. 144.
  43. ^ Glasgow Fire Service Annual Report 1974 (p. 7)
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