6 To place editorial email [email protected]
working 9 til 5... and then some!
we’ve a ll s e e n the h o l ly wo o d f i l m s . th e f i r e a l a r m sou n d s a n d a l l t h e f ir ef ig h t er s stop wh at t hey a re
d oing , ge t the ir fir e k i t o n an d ar e al l as s e m b l ed a n d r ea dy to g o wit h in m in u t es. n o c on f u s i on a nd
th e wh ole c re w a re ac c o u n te d fo r . h owe v e r , st e wa rton is a lon g way f r om h ol ly wood a n d t hi ng s a re
d o ne a lit tle di ffe r e n tly ar o u n d h e r e . . .
Stewarton Community Fire Station, like
the lookout for potential recruits, and anyone
been called out to all kinds of emergencies,
many others in rural parts of the UK, employs
who lives within a mile and works within two
from domestic fires to water rescues to road
retained firefighters only. What this means
miles of the station and is aged 18 or over may
collisions. The biggest call out the team have
is instead of full time staff, Stewarton relies
be considered. Along with being on call for a
on local people with other jobs to come to
maximum of 120 hours per week, there is also
faced occurred in 2009 when a freight train
their aid in the event of an emergency. When
required to answer an emergency call, these
three hours training every week at the station.
While it is a big commitment, it is also a
men and women are summoned to the fire
allan draws the
short straw
station by a radio pager. Once at the station,
they crew the fire engine and make their way
carrying kerosene and diesel crashed half a
mile south of Stewarton’s train station and
caught fire. More than 50 fire crew were
involved in controlling the blaze.
While
attending
to
emergencies
and
controlling fires make up a huge part of the
to the incident.
job, the Stewarton team cannot stress enough
When these pagers go off, the retained
that fire prevention is equally important.
firefighters have to drop everything, no matter
As part of their commitment to building a
where they are or who they are with. This is a
safer Scotland, The Scottish Fire and Rescue
huge commitment as not only does it affect
Service offer everyone in Scotland a free home
the firefighter’s social and working life, but it
fire safety visit. This is where the firefighters
impacts their family life as well. An example
come and advise you on home safety and
of this would be if a firefighter has a young
where necessary they will also fit smoke
child at home, he has to ensure that the child’s
alarms free of charge. The safety of yourself
mother is able to take over so he can be out
and your family really is paramount, and it is
the door as soon as his pager goes off.
recommended that everyone should consider
A huge vote of thanks must go to the local
their safety in an around the house. All the
information for this can be found on the
employers who support the Scottish Fire
website www.firescotland.gov.uk or by calling
and Rescue Service by allowing their staff
the Freephone number 0800 07331 999 to
to respond to pagers and leave their place of
work with no notice during the working day.
arrange a Home Fire Safety Visit.
Only with their support could a local crew be
The crew at Stewarton fire station do a
mobilised to deal with emergencies in and
wonderful job, and it has been a pleasure for
around Stewarton.
us at The Review to be able to give you a small
One of the Stewarton station’s biggest
insight in to what they do. We also hope this
problems is struggling to employ retained
personnel. A major factor in this is that, like
hugely rewarding one. Retained firefighters
receive a salary and are paid for drill nights
article will inspire some local people, young
and old, in to considering a retained role
many towns in the Glasgow commuter belt,
and turnouts to incidents.
within the fire service. Finally, if you feel like
a huge number of people work outside the
At the moment, Stewarton’s station is made
giving a little back, the guys at Stewarton
town, which would make it impossible for
up of nine retained staff, whose jobs and
them to respond to emergencies within the
roles in the community are varied. Between
attendance time set out by the Scottish Fire
this group of firefighters there is a wealth
released shortly.
and Rescue Service. Stewarton are always on
of experience, and down the years they have
By Kyle Ferguson
station will be holding a