Beauly
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Contact details
Beauly Retained Station Lorry Park Croyard Road Beauly IV4 7DJ Current complement: 10 |
Appliance Type |
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| LIGHT FIRE APPLIANCE |
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The Beauly unit is and has consistently been one of the busiest Auxiliary stations in the Highlands, averaging over 90 incidents per year. The crew at present are: Sub Officer Malcolm Hannah Leading Firefighters Charles Barclay and James Geddes Firefighters George Allan, Gary Tillman, Steven Lymburn, Nicola Hercher, Frank Mulgrew, Karla Stevenson, David Gibson, James Murphy and Martin Geddes Beauly has four holders of the Long Service Medal, one MBE (Member of the British Empire), five of the crew hold the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and one of it's Firefighters has a citation for the Preservation of Life from Fire. |
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History of Beauly Auxiliary Unit
Beauly's first unit was formed during World War II where they operated from a shed in Ferry Road, this was disbanded after the war was over.
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In 1968 a local shop owner was approached and asked if he would be interested in forming a unit within the village, and this was the start of what is now possibly the busiest Auxiliary unit in Britain. The first premises was a garden shed behind the premises of Aird Motors which housed a pump, hose and a standpipe & bar. Turnout was by a war time siren backed up by telephone on a rolling system. The siren was removed at the end of the Cold War and turnout was by telephone only. |
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Beauly Volunteers 1976 |
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A trailer was supplied in 1980 which carried all the equipment and ladders, this was towed by the first Firefighter to reach the "station" with his private car. A purpose built garage was built to house the trailer, this was sited behind the Police Station in the village. |
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Beauly's First Appliance |
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In 1982 the unit was supplied with an Ultra Light Fire Appliance which was a Ford Escort van which held the firefighting equipment and two crew members. The crew were unhappy with the turnout system and as a result in 1991 they funded their own paging system, at a cost to them of £3700 per year. | ||
Beauly Volunteers 1980 |
In 1998 the unit was upgraded to a Light Fire Appliance fully kitted out with the latest Breathing Apparatus and a purpose built steel garage was purchased. While waiting for the garage to be built, the unit was housed in an old workshop attached to the "Made in Scotland" premises. When the garage was completed, a Fire and Rescue Service paging system was installed, the crew's training schedule increased from one evening per month to one evening per week. Beauly now have a highly trained and highly dedicated crew of Firefighters who strive to better themselves at every opportunity.
The Beauly Auxiliary Unit have a website of their own which can be found on www.communities.msn.co.uk/BeaulyFirefighters.