Fire crews scramble for new HQ after station burns down

Published on 04/12/2012 12:01

FIRE chiefs are seeking an alternative base in North Berwick after a blaze gutted the town’s station.

More than 40 firefighters raced to tackle an early morning fire at the Station Road facility yesterday.

The roof of the building later collapsed, leaving the town without any long-term base in the immediate area. The nearest station is East Linton, six miles away, while Haddington is more than nine miles out of town.

Bosses are now scrambling to locate a new hub of operations for the service which deals with about 150 calls a year.

The station currently boasts 13 retained firefighters who react to calls when paged.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “The main thing now is to identify an alternative location.

“Cover will be provided by a wholetime appliance from McDonald Road over the next two days while we establish this new base. There has not been and neither will there be any loss of service.”

Heavy smoke was first spotted billowing from the building shortly after 5am and retained crews rushed to the scene but were unable to safely gain access.

Two appliances from within the station were removed but suffered damage during the incident. They have since been transferred for inspection to the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service workshop in Newbridge.

No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.

North Berwick community councillor Malcolm Baker said: “I woke up around 7.30am and looked out the window and saw an ambulance. When I went outside there was smoke everywhere and the road was closed.

“We hold our meetings at the station so we’ll now have to look elsewhere, maybe the council chambers or one of the church rooms.

“What is really important, though, is that the fire brigade find a new base in the town as they provide a much-needed service. North Berwick has quite a sizeable elderly population so a fire service needs to be retained.”

Fire investigators are still poring over the embers in an attempt to find a cause for the blaze.

The spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service added: “When retained crews first arrived at the scene the station was well alight and they were unable to safely access the building, immediately requesting more resources to the scene.

“Our business continuity plans have been activated to ensure that there is adequate cover in the immediate area.

“Crews did a fantastic job in getting to the scene and 
removing the appliances from within whilst also launching a full-scale firefighting operation.”

Related Articles

• Hundreds evacuated from blaze

  HUNDREDS of people were evacuated when a major blaze broke out in a landmark city centre building.

• Stalked by flames through the warren

  IT WAS about 8pm on Saturday that smoke detectors in buildings around the Cowgate in Edinburgh’s Old Town began to indicate the presence of a fire somewhere in the warren of buildings set into the side of the valley spanned by South Bridge.

• Freight train blaze chaos

  A BLAZE broke out on a freight train carrying cars to Edinburgh today, sparking long delays for rail passengers.

• Train blaze brings road and rail chaos

  THOUSANDS of rail passengers faced widespread disruption yesterday after a fire ripped through a freight train, paralysing the east coast main line.

• Couple just a whisker from disaster owe lives to cat

  A COUPLE would have died in the fire which ripped through their home if they had not been woken by their pet cat, a fire chief said today.