Sandbach Fire Station is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of its purpose built station on The Commons.
Firefighters from the station will be marking the occasion by raising money for good causes on Saturday June 18 at The Cobbles in the town centre.
The present Sandbach Fire Station was officially opened on 21st June 1961 by Alderman F D Gee (Chairman of County Fire Brigade committee), moving from its previous site on the opposite side of The Commons where the market stalls are today.
Crews will be on The Cobbles with various fund raising activities and stalls to raise money for Luke Tindell who is going to Ghana with the fire cadets and Station Manager John Brownrigg who is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2012 to raise funds for the Fire Fighters Charity and North West Air Ambulance.
Starting at 10.00am there will be a selection of fire service vehicles on display including a rescue Land Rover based at Sandbach before being taken out of service and restored to its former glory, a Green Goddess and a vintage Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service fire appliance. Sitting alongside them will be the current Sandbach fire engine and the rapid response rescue vehicle which operates from the station. The Service's mobile display unit will be there, displaying archive material and equipment, as well as the road safety department's driving simulator, cadet-run stalls and a ‘I'm A Firefighter Get Me Out Of Here' bucket splash.
Station Manager John Brownrigg says: "We are an integral part of Sandbach's history with a long and distinguished association - one hundred and fifty one years of fire cover, 50 years of which have been operating out of our current base on The Commons. We not only attend fires and incidents but pro-actively support our local community by providing safety information and advice as well as taking an active part in local life. All our crew members are part of the local community, living in the area, and are proud to serve the people of Sandbach.”
Sandbach has a history of on-call fire cover since 1860. Apart from World War II there has always been a complement of between 12 and 18 firefighting personnel. During the war years, however, the majority of Sandbach firefighters were transferred to Liverpool which was one of the heaviest targets for German air raids outside London due to the busy port area. This left Sandbach with a skeleton crew for the duration.
Today the station is served by 17 on-call personnel providing the station with 24 hour cover. A watch manager, two crew managers and 14 firefighters are based at Sandbach.
There's one fire engine and a four-wheel-drive rapid response rescue vehicle based at the station. The fire engine is capable of covering the majority of incidents that occur in the Sandbach area and the rapid response rescue vehicle is perfect for swift attendance at road traffic collisions, particularly due to the proximity of the fire station to the M6.
A thriving fire cadet unit meets at the station every Tuesday. The cadets are very active within the local community, assisting at events such as fetes, school visits, Sandbach Transport Festival and fire station open days. The on-call fire crew also provides assistance with the Respect youth engagement team.
Cadet Manager Kevin Kelly commented on cadet Luke Tindell's bid to raise funds for Ghana: "This will be the fourth time that we have gone to rural areas of Ghana to build a school. It is life affirming to see our young people raise money to provide an educational opportunity and a pathway out of poverty to disadvantaged children in another country.”
Following the day's events on The Cobbles there will be
a reunion at the Military Arms for Sandbach past and present firefighters.
The evening event starts at 7.30pm and anyone who has served at Sandbach
since 1961 is welcome to attend.