A Short History of the Inverness Fire Brigade
By Firemaster Duncan MacDonald, OBE (Firemaster 1950 - 1956)
Any endeavour to trace the genesis and development of the Fire Fighting in Inverness from the primitive neighbourly helpfulness to the present discipline and equipment are not exactly easy. Our local historians, sharing the unjust outlook of humanity in general, have dealt very sparingly indeed with the many startling stages intervening between the hectic excitement of the populace en masse with their buckets and the advent of the ever-ready motor engines, with turbine pumps, water towers and mechanical fire escapes of today.
It has been recorded that the Inverness Fire Engine Establishment was instituted in the year 1819 by the liberality of the North British Fire Insurance Company, now known as the North British and Mercantile Insurance, who solely, at their own expense, placed an excellent Fire Engine in this town. This was the only Fire Engine kept in the North of Scotland, and was found to be of the utmost utility on several distressing emergencies in the North, though it at first was an institution of purely voluntary character, kept up from funds raised by public subscription. Among these subscribers were the Town Council, many of the leading merchants of the town, and several Fire Insurance Companies. These annual subscriptions were continued until 1850, when the Fire Establishment was placed under the management of the General Commissioners of the Police and Burgh, who were then a popularly elected body quite distinct from the Town Council.
The public water supply at this time was pumped from the River Ness to a storage tank which was situated at Old Edinburgh Road and thence by gravitation throughout the town. In the year 1834 the Town Council agreed to put in a number of branches or off-sets of such construction as would suit for attaching Fire Plug Cocks. In 1883, a water supply by gravitation was introduced into the town from Loch Ashie, and the Council put down a number of additional Fire Hydrants to keep pace with the growth and necessities of the Burgh. This supply serves the town to this day.
The destruction and danger from fire was early appreciated by our early fathers, and, no doubt, fires of a more or less serious nature must have occurred in Inverness to have caused such precautions being taken.
The equipment of the Brigade was for the time fairly complete, comprising three manual engines, suction-butts, ladders and all other necessary appliances at this period. The number of men at the formation of the Brigade appears to have been 18, all of whom followed their regular occupation, which was that of slater, joiner and plumber, etc. In summoning the men, if a fire occurred during the night, it was the custom for the policemen to go round among the firemen's houses and blow whistles, but, since 1860, alarm bells have been installed in each fireman's house. These bells were controlled from the Police Station.
Passing over a few years of the Brigade's existence, the General Police Act for Scotland was passed. Among the changes incurred by this Act, the Magistrates and Town Council were appointed to act as Police Commissioners of the Burgh, and the Fire Brigade became by Statute a part of the Police Establishment, the expense of its maintenance being put on the rates.
If the fire happened to be of a serious nature, and the water supply was poor, members of the public were called out to assist in carrying water with canvas buckets and working the engine. If the fire occurred during the night, all the men who assisted the Brigade paraded at the Police Office in the morning to be paid for their services, and on frequent occasions the Firemen had to be called in to identify the genuine cases. But a considerable amount of ill-feeling arose. This difficulty was overcome by a system of checks. Every man who assisted at a fire received a check after the fire was extinguished, and, on returning it to the Police Office, received his respective allowance.
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Taken on Canal Bank, Muirtown 1897 |
Prior to the last 20 years, the arrangements as regards the horses for
hauling the manual pumps were of a rather primitive description. The Fire
Brigade had to depend on taking the horses that could be got most readily,
and it often happened that carters and cabmen who had their stance at the
Exchange would unyoke their horses on the street and proceed to the Fire
Station to take out the fire machines.
We now come to the time when the general apparatus of the Brigade was considerably enlarged and improved, the chief articles being a manual pump (horse drawn) and 200 feet of leather hose. The new pump was operated by 16 men. |
| It was early apparent that the Fire Engines, which were worked manually by the firemen, were to prove unsatisfactory, as we read in the Minutes of the Town Council of 18th June 1883, that it was agreed to call on Mr Bryson, Chief of the Glasgow Fire Brigade, to inspect and report on the equipment of the Fire Brigade. On October 3rd, Mr Bryson reported that he had inspected the fire equipment, and found that it was deficient in quantity and badly kept. The large manual engine would be made efficient, if repaired, but the small engines were useless. The hose was in fair condition. He suggested the overhaul of the water supply and the introduction of ball hydrants. Also the purchase of a Fire Escape approximately 50 feet, 300 feet canvas hose, 300 feet leather hose, four standpipes, six branchpipes with nozzles, 150 feet of rope, and eight hatchets. The report was accepted, and the Town Council agreed to purchase the necessary equipment. On 31 January 1884, the Fire Committee agreed to accept an offer by Mr J Campbell, Church Street, amounting to £141, for the extension of the building behind the Town Hall for the storage of additional fire appliances. |  |
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In due course the town purchased a Merryweather Steam Fire Engine, which was tested at the river and proved very efficient. During the year 1893 the Burgh Police Act, 1892, had come into operation, and the Town Council were the Commissioners. The Brigade continued to add new equipment for subduing fires. It is interesting to recall some of the more notable fires which broke out in Inverness and district during this period. In 1898 such a fire occurred on the east side of Church Street on premises owned by Mr Donald Groat. Shortly after this another serious fire took place in the Music Hall, the total damage exceeding £10,000. |
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It is also interesting to recall that on two occasions during the last war the Brigade chartered a special train for the purpose of transporting the Steam Fire Engine and the men to distant fires. The first was at Dunrobin Castle, the Duke of Sutherland's residence approximately 90 miles away. The other was at Rothiemurchus, approximately 40 miles away, where a serious forest fire was raging and threatening both farms and houses. On both occasions great praise was extended to the Firemaster and his men on their efficiency and valuable help. A few years later the Town Council agreed to purchase a Motor Fire Tender and dispose of the Steam Fire Engine, which had done valuable work in the Brigade. During 1925 an up-to-date Fire Engine was purchased at the cost of £1050, including a Fire Escape. |
| Arrangements were made whereby people in the surrounding district
received the services of the Fire Brigade on the payment of a small
retaining fee, plus the expenses of the Brigade in turning out.
In 1937 a very alarming fire, with total damage amounting to over £157,000, was attended with great loss at Beaufort Castle, the home of Lord Lovat. While the Brigade were speeding to answer this call, one of the firemen, George MacDougall , fell from the engine and was fatally injured. A year later, the Town Council decided to purchase a modern Fire Engine, and, after careful consideration of the various types of vehicles, considered a Dennis Light Six Turbine Fire Engine, with a pumping capacity of 600 gallons per minute and an all-weather body. All metal parts were chromium plated. Including a 50 feet wheeled escape, the total cost of this machine was £1975. An agreement was made with the Inverness County Council whereby for the sum of £680 the Inverness Town Council undertook to perform the usual fire extinguishing services within No. 1 and 2 Districts of Inverness County Council. This was the principle adopted under the Fire Brigades Act, 1938, and meant that the Brigade answered all calls to these districts without charges for each call. Any ratepayer within these two districts had the same privilege as a ratepayer of Inverness Burgh of calling the Brigade, when required, without question as to responsibility of payment, and the Brigade accepted the calls and answered the same without delay. |
Funeral Procession of Fireman George MacDougall |
Recognising conflagration engendered by enemy action as the worst peril that can confront the civilian population, the Home Office issued to every Fire Brigade Authority and every principal fire officer in Great Britain, a memorandum on emergency Fire Brigade organisation, and so the Auxiliary Fire Service came into being.
The National Fire Service came into being in 1941, when the Fire Services throughout the country were nationalised, proving in practice that standardisation was necessary, particularly during the Blitz, when many fire machines arrived at the scene of fire with non-standard equipment, thus causing great confusion.
The National Fire Service was organised into eleven regions, Scotland being the eleventh. Area Training Schools were set up, and the men were given tuition in Fire Service work. Those who were successful in becoming instructors then put to use their knowledge in training others. The result was that by 1942 the Service was very efficient.