As a celebratory event is held to mark the 50th anniversary of Perth Fire Station, Michael Alexander meets several retired and serving Perth firefighters who share the highs and lows of their careers.
Alan Ramsay
Reflecting on his 30-year career, retired Perth firefighter Alan Ramsay can tell countless stories of triumph and tragedy, of dramatic rescues and tedious false alarms, of humour and despair and everything in between.
But as Perth Fire Station holds a 50th anniversary celebration on September 24 – delayed by a year because of Covid-19 – the now 73-year-old says the most rewarding aspect of his service was making a positive difference.
Born in Edinburgh, Alan joined what was then Perth and Kinross Fire Brigade in January 1973.
After a couple of years at the Scottish Fire Service College at Gullane and then a spell in Dundee, he spent the majority of his career at Perth.
Because Perth was the only full time station in the area at that time and the hub of a major road network, lots of their calls outs were to road traffic accidents (RTAs).
One of the first “big fires” he ever attended, however, was at Perth’s Salutation Hotel on December 24, 1976.
“I remember because it was the early hours of Christmas Eve,” he explains.
“That was an awkward fire because it started in the ground floor kitchen and it spread internally, and broke out on the roof. It was a very difficult fire to tackle.
“But also one of our colleagues fell down in a channel between two roofs.
“There was obviously a lot of thick smoke and it was dark. He thought he was stepping from one roof on to another. He fell down 30 feet. We had a job finding him first of all. We had to break in.
“But there wasn’t enough room for him to fall. He was standing up. He ended up in Bridge of Earn Hospital with a back injury. That was a tricky fire.”
Diversity of call-outs
Alan said firefighters in Edinburgh and Glasgow would often imagine that Perth must be “quiet”.
However, with the station covering such a diverse urban and rural area, call-outs could be incredibly varied ranging from farm fires and workers trapped in farm machinery to aircraft crashes.
Alan says the training helped them deal with the unpredictability and trauma of call-outs.
At RTAs, for example, firefighters needed to “switch off” and “focus on the job” without getting emotionally involved.
“You are no use to these folk if you get all wrapped up in emotions and get squeamish looking,” he says.
In his day, there was no counselling for firefighters.
Firefighters would come back to the station, have a “laugh and cup of tea”, speak about it, and just “get on with it”, he says.
‘Ultimate sacrifice’ by colleague
One of the worst incidents, however, happened on December 4, 1995 when a Perth firefighter colleague made the ultimate sacrifice.
Fireman Roderick Nicholson, known as ‘Big Nic’, died after an attempt to rescue two workmen from a huge silo of chemical dust went wrong.
The accident happened as a team of firefighters fought to free the workers from the 40ft-high silo at Perth harbour.
The 43-year-old became trapped himself amid five tonnes of sodium carbonate ash – described as similar to quicksand – and died at Perth Royal Infirmary.
“I was on duty but in the office,” says Alan.
“It was like a black cloud descended on the station. We just couldn’t believe it.
“The guys started coming back from the job and were absolutely stunned.
“We were trying to keep them busy – washing the soda ash off, and getting ready for the next shout. Because that’s what happens. The bells could go again!
“Every watch was effected by that.”
Gus McCabe
The first “half decent” fire that Gus McCabe encountered during his career came around 1973 when he was called out to a blaze at a local lemonade and sweetie factory one Sunday afternoon.
The former pupil of ‘Caley Road’ primary and Goodlyburn secondary schools, who “fancied something different” after working as a glazier for six years, joined up on June 9, 1972 – serving the statutory maximum of 30 years and nine months.
If there’s one incident the now 72-year-old will never forget though it’s the first bad accident he responded to when six people – including a mum, dad and their two children – were killed in a two car crash at Madderty.
The driver of another vehicle, also killed having driven from Broughty Ferry, was deemed responsible for the crash.
“We found out later it was my mate’s sister in law’s brother and his wife and bairns that were all killed,” he says.
“This family had been at Lochearnhead for a day out and were on their way home.
“Another firefighter said it was the worst road accident he had ever seen.
“That was a really busy night too because we had every incident under the sun. It just happened it was one of those nights.”
Tam Sutherland
Seventy-three-year-old Perth man Tam Sutherland did his 30 years in the fire service from April 15, 1974 until his retirement in 2004.
He was amongst the first recruits not to be trained at Gullane. He did six weeks training at Perth and six weeks at Dundee.
He remembers a big house fire at Letham when a granny, grandad and two children were amongst five fatalities.
“That one did get to me because of the kids,” he admits.
Memorable blazes
One of the final fires he attended before retirement was a major blaze at Bankfoot Church.
“We drove into Bankfoot village and went for f*** sake!” he says.
“It was through the roof and everything! It must have been burning for ages!” adding that they almost lost a fire engine that day when sparks went into the air filter and set the tender on fire.
Thinking back to the early part of his career, the incidents that stick in his mind are countless chimney fires and other blazes in the then “notorious” Hunter Crescent in Muirton, Perth.
The sprawling housing scheme north of Perth city centre was one of the most deprived areas in the country at the time and had a “reputation”.
“You never knew what you were going to get when you went to Hunters!” he laughs.
However, staying true to the mantra that firefighters only remember the tragedies and the funny stories, Tam recounts another tale of black humour.
“We were once at a chimney fire at Hunters – two boys are on the chimney head,” he says.
“Alan (Ramsay) was the gaffer. He shouted ‘check the chimney breast on the way down!’
“You could hear ‘mumbling mumbling’ on the radio.
“Alan goes up the stair, into the attic. There was boarding. Alan got behind it, rolled his sleeve up and dangled his arm out as they came along with the torch.
“You heard ‘there’s a f****** body up here’! And Alan is trying not to laugh!
“You could hear ‘b******’ when he started shaking with laughter.
“Alan only came out because he was frightened they’d send a message back to base saying there was actually a body there.
“In the days when these places were on the go as ghettos you could say, that was most of our work and it was in your mind you could find anything.”
Struan Drummond
Struan Drummond, a serving Perth firefighter with Amber Watch, has been with the fire service for 23 years.
Growing up in Logiealmond, after training as an electrician, he served for eight years as a firefighter at Lochgelly then three years at Blackness Road in Dundee before transferring to Perth.
On the night Bankfoot Church went on fire, he was just eight years old and camping in the hills with his dad.
He remembers watching from afar as the flames and smoke licked into the sky.
One of the biggest jobs he’s been involved with in recent times happened in 2019 when around 50 firefighters including Perth responded to what turned out to be a fire raising incident – and ultimate fatality – at Pets at Home and B&M in Perth.
“There was a fire alarm at Pets at Home and I’m driving the first machine with the gaffer on board,” recalls Struan.
“You are on the back foot already – thinking ‘it’s a false alarm’ and ‘how long will we have to wait for the key holder?’
“The blue light started flashing on what I thought was mist.
“We drove down the slip, and smoke just blew right into the cab. I’m like ‘jeez, that’s smoke’! And the gaffer’s like ‘I know it’s f****** smoke!’
“By the time we got over the bridge we could see the flames in B&M.
“That’s probably one of the biggest jobs I’ve been on because there were pumps from Fife there.
“It turned out a guy had broken into both premises. He’d tried to set fire to Pets at Home and it hadn’t taken hold. But he’d gone into B&M and there was a lot more flammable stuff in there.
“Pets at Home wasn’t too badly damaged but all the animals were in there.”
Black humour
As the blaze was dampened down, firefighters were told to go into Pets at Home to get as many animals out as they could.
Firefighting is a serious business, but again, Struan recalls some black humour.
“I was wearing BA (breathing apparatus),” he says.
“I think it was the Blairgowrie crew – one of the girls Frankie had just started.
“Where the vets was at the back they had cages.
“The Blairgowrie crew were told go in there, but they were told to ‘watch because there’s a big dog’!
“It’s pitch black, no electricity. I’m cowering in a wee cage and I burst up – they absolutely wet themselves!
“Actually, it turned out the guy who set the fire was killed in B&M. He became overcome with it all. A tragedy.”
History of Perth Fire Station
Struan explained that when Perth Fire Station was officially opened on the site of old railway marshalling yards on September 29, 1971, by the Lord Provost of Perth David K Thomson, it replaced the “very poor standard” fire station which had been at King Edward Street since 1921.
Overseen by Alex Masson, who was the longest serving fire master from 1947 to 1976, when Perth opened it had six bays and was one of the biggest in Scotland.
The new premises at 401 High Street had their own training area and was further developed over the years with a workshop, mechanics, and gymnasium.
When regionalisation happened in the mid-1970s, some facilities centralised to Dundee.
However, at that time, the main training facility was in Perth.
At the start of the North Sea oil boom, offshore personnel were trained there too before that remit moved to Aberdeen.
Modern fire service
Today, Perth Fire Station has five watches – Red, Blue, Green, White and Amber – and there should be 14 personnel on each watch.
Struan says the main changes over the years include more specialised fire and rescue equipment, better PPE and improved communications and procedures.
The creation of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has led to some changes. For example, during amalgamation, back room facilities such as wages and HR were amalgamated at national level.
Firefighters can also now be called out to cover a much larger area. For example, the furthest he’s been is Thurso and Ullapool to provide cover.
In general, however, the frontline stations remained the same and mainly serve their local communities.
Private anniversary event
Gary Birrell, crew manager with White Watch at Perth Fire Station, said they were looking forward to welcoming former and serving fire service personnel and their families to a private 50th anniversary commemorative event at the station between 12pm and 2pm on Saturday September 24.
White Watch – the on duty watch – will be doing a series of displays with the most up to date cutting gear.
There will also be pump and ladder drill demonstrations, displays of photos and vehicles and equipment from the Scottish Fire & Rescue Museum.
Crucially, it will also be a chance for serving and retired fire service personnel and their families to catch up and reminisce.
“This event is for retired and present fire service personnel, but we hope we can have an open day for the public sometime next year,” he adds.
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