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DOWN MEMORY LANE: Bill McAllister sheds light on the long and illustrious history of firefighting in Inverness





firefighters at work
firefighters at work

Inverness had its first fire brigade up and running 175 years ago this Christmas – with the firefighter recruits lured by a guaranteed two shillings and sixpence per blaze.

Tackling such outbreaks had been part of the police’s job – but spectacular fires in the town centre flagged up the need for a separate service. Inverness was to have its own fire brigade for 101 years before becoming part of the all-Highland one which was swallowed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service eight years ago.

Inverness Burgh Constabulary ran the fire engines until late 1846.

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The first controversy arose that March when buildings opposite the Town House went on fire. It turned out the main engine was being repaired in Glasgow while the other two were “in wretched order”, according to the Courier. One had a leaky hose that was hurriedly patched up with cloth from a nearby shop.

Five ground floor shops were affected. Upstairs was a workshop, upholstery store and several flats occupied by families. All managed to escape through choking smoke but there was a significant loss of valuable objects and stock.

Then, in late September, came an even bigger blaze in Ettles Court, which stood where Union Street now is, starting in Robertson’s carpenter shop and spreading to adjoining shops, watched by hundreds of people.

This damage triggered a special council meeting. Dr Nicol, convenor of the fire committee, was critical of the police response at Ettles Court, saying that of the 40 officers available for duty only three appeared to tackle the blaze – and the fire engine was broken.

Fire Brigade
Fire Brigade

Nicol pressed for a brigade of trained firemen to be set up and when this was agreed, the priority was to find its leader. By November, they had hired a Glasgow Fire Brigade man as superintendent, with insurance companies contributing to his salary.

The fire committee agreed that 16 uniformed men should be recruited. As well as an agreed salary, each would receive two shillings and sixpence for the first hour of any fire they attended, an extra shilling for the second hour and sixpence for the third.

The councillors also proposed that people be appointed to bring water-filled buckets to a fire. The first with a bucketful would receive six shillings, the second five shillings and so on – an incentive to hurry!

By Christmas, Dr Nicol reported that 18 men had been hired – Inverness Fire Brigade was up and running. When police got news of a fire, they would go round to the firemen’s homes and blow whistles!

In 1884, the council hired a building behind the Town Hall to store fire appliances. In the era of horse-drawn engines, cabbies and carters would unyoke their horses at their stance outside the Town House to allow them to be used to pull the engines.

In 1938, en route to a blaze at Beaufort Castle, George MacDougall, an Inverness auxiliary fireman, died when he fell from the engine at Clachnaharry Bridge. In World War II, a special train carried firemen and engines to a major fire at Dunrobin Castle.

It remained a burgh brigade until 1947, when the Northern Area Fire Brigade was launched, and the new £45,000 HQ at Longman industrial estate opened in 1958. The Western Isles was added to the remit in 1975 and in 2005, it became the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Before losing its independence in 2013, it had 1600 people and 101 stations.

After WWII, Beauly fire station operated from a shed in Ferry Road while Nairn’s opened in Harbour Road in 1948, moving to King Street in 1984.

The area’s service had distinguished firemasters such as Jimmy McNicol, who was Caledonian FC chairman, Eric MacIntyre, Bill Shand – later a Highland councillor – Donnie Grant, former Clach and Caley footballer, and, from Nairn, Robert Gordon. Brian Murray was the last firemaster when the title became chief fire officer in 2013, with Stewart Edgar being the final in the latter post. The city and area are well safeguarded by firefighters, following in the footsteps of those pioneers when folk brought water in buckets…

• Sponsored by Ness Castle Lodges.


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