Lairg
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Contact details
Lairg Retained Station Main Street Lairg IV27 4DB Current complement: 11 |
Appliance Type |
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| WATER TENDER LADDER |
The Community We Serve
Our retained station is in the village of Lairg which is at the southern
tip of Loch Shin in scenic rural Sutherland. Our present station was opened in 1971 when
Lairg was upgraded to retained, prior to this Lairg operated as volunteers from a small shed in the
main street beside the smiddy using their own transport. Today the station operates with
modern fully equipped water tender, working under the sign Charlie five one.
Sutherland covers over 2000 square miles and is the largest county in Britain, it also has
the smallest population of any county in Britain & is probably the least well known
county. the scenery around Sutherland varies from rugged mountains & coastline to huge
expanses of moorland, wilderness, large forests & many large lochs, rivers & estuaries.
Sutherland is mostly divided into large rural estates which gain some income from shooting
& fishing. It has no large industrial areas or large scale agriculture but many areas
have crofting communities which usually supplements other employment. The limited local
employment includes fish farming, sea fishing, agriculture, forestry, tourism, local services,
crafts & small manufacturers.
Our stations regular area stretches west to Ledmore, north to Altnaharra, north west to
Achfarry, south to Ardchronie quarry & east to Rogart. Prior to the upgrading of
Lochinver & Kinlochbervie to retained and auxiliary stations Tongue, Bonar Bridge & Scourie
being equipped with B.A. we covered an area from Ardcronie to Cape Wrath, a distance of 75
miles. We have no high rise buildings but have many large estate lodges in fairly remote
locations. We are backed up by surrounding auxiliary & retained stations at Bonar Bridge
(10 miles),Golspie (18 miles), Dornoch (24 miles), Lochinver (45 miles), Kinlochbervie (55 miles)
& Tongue (40 miles). We can be called to back up any of the other stations at incidents
all over Sutherland especially road accidents, hill & forest fires, & house fires in the
North & West. Due to the distances involved & much of the area being single track
roads with passing some of these incidents in remote areas can be over an hours travel away.
Our Crew
Being a retained station all our crew have other employment in & around
Lairg. Due to the nature of the area & local employment our lives are all very
different. We make up an interesting & friendly team with a wide range of skills,
knowledge, experience & interests.
Sub Officer Alec Morrison
Joined Lairg station in 1972 & has lived & worked around Lairg all his
life. He is now the Workshop Manager of the Post Office Garage in Lairg & lives nearby in
Shinness where he lives with his wife & family enjoys meeting the everyday challenges to manage
a croft with sheep & cattle.
Leading Fire Fighter Alexander Mackenzie
Joined Lairg station in 1978 & lived & worked in Lairg all his life.
Known to everyone locally as Painter, he lives in Lairg with his wife & family where he runs
his own business, repairing all kinds of vehicles & specialising in vehicle body repairs &
refinishing. Painter has played football for the local team for many years.
Fire Fighter John Macrae
Joined Lairg station in 1997. John has lived & worked around Lairg most of
his life and now lives with his partner & family at Rheanbreck from where he works & runs a
business with his father as haulier, fencing & digger contractor as well as being kept busy
running the family crofts with sheep & cattle.
Fire Fighter James Lockhart
Joined Lairg station in 1997. James has lived & worked around Lairg all his life
and now works with his father in the family business of Joinery, painting & decorating.
James also plays football for the local team and is a keen Aberdeen football supporter.
Fire Fighter John Macdonald
Joined Lairg staion in 1998. He has lived & worked around Lairg all his life and
now works for First Engineering servicing and repairing local railway tracks & equipment.
John lives at Knockdhu with his daughters & wife who is also a fire fighter. John &
his wife run thier own & family crofts with sheep, alpacas & pony carriage rides.
John also enjoys collecting vintage machinery.
Fire Fighter Richard Glover
Joined Lairg station in 1999. He was originally from Derbyshire, moved to Lairg 7 years
ago after lecturing Perth & Fife for 12 years. With his wife he runs a pottery, coffee
shop & croft with sheep, alpacas & pony carriage rides. Richard also lectures in
vehicle engineering part time & repairs & hires mountain bikes, services & repairs
vehicles. He enjoys sailing, mountaineering & vintage vehicles.
Fire Fighter Thomas Fowles Mackay
Joined Lairg station in 1999. He was orginally from Portpatrick Tom settled in Lairg 7
years ago after marrying a local lass & lives in the village with their two daughters.
After working as a nursing auxiliary in Wigtownshire & Golspie & now works in a local
advice centre for 12 to 18 years olds. Tom enjoys football & most other sporting
activities.
Fire Fighter Philip Thirwall
Joined Lairg station in 1999. He was originally from Rotherham where he worked
in the steel industry untill 1986 when he earned a degree & began lecturing in London.
Phil moved to Lairg 11 years ago & lives in the village with his wife & family and now
works as an ambulance technician and enjoys wood working & photography in his spare
time.
Fire Fighter Helena Macdonald
Joined Lairg station in 1999. She has worked around Lairg & Bonar Bridge
all her life. Helena is Lairgs first female fire fighter and now lives at Knockdhu with
her two daughters & husband John who is also a fire fighter. Helena is renowned locally
for her baking which she sells in local shops & is always busy working with sheep & cattle
on their own & family crofts. Helena enjoys vintage machinery & looking after their
Clydesdale horse.
Fire Fighter Lindsey Macdonald
Joined Lairgs station in 2003. She has lived & worked around Lairgs &
Ardgay all her life. Now lives in the village with her husband & family & has her own
painting & decorating business. Lindsey is also a part time postwoman, she has been a
leading force in the local gala committee for many years and she helps train a local youth football
team. She also enjoys fishing & watercolour painting of local scenery.
Joined Lairg station in 1974 & has lived & worked around Lairg all his life. William has worked in many roles locally over the years including ambulance man. He lives with his wife & family in the village and now runs his own business, a local grocery store & drives for a local coach company. He enjoys holidays & family activities.