Egremont Fire Station.
Station Chapel St, Egremont, Cumbria CA22 2DU
Tel: 01946 820281
Egremont has had a fire brigade presence since the early 1860's. Egremont's first 'fire engine' was a horse-drawn machine called a Paxton made by Merryweather and Sons and six men were required on each side of the levers to work the pump. This engine was bought by the townspeople of Egremont after a spate of fires in 1860. Businessmen of the town got together and formed a committee; money was collected at the meeting, and soon over £300 was collected from the townspeople to buy the engine.
The engine was bought on the 23rd February 1861 at a cost of almost £200. The engine was housed in the Lamb Lane area of Egremont. The current location is in the centre of the town in the Chapel street area.
There are five infant/primary schools and one secondary school in the area, and there are also two elderly person’s homes within the town itself. The crew from Egremont station regularly visit these premises to familiarise themselves with the layout.
There are also many farms and light/medium engineering workshops in and around the town which present problems and risk such as large barn fires, fertilisers and chemicals and the use of various gas cylinders on these premises, not to mention the dangers from large silos. Crews from Egremont station undergo training on the various premises around the area in order to become familiar with the risks involved there.
The station is crewed by 12 part-time retained fire-fighters, providing either 24-hour cover or limited cover, and many of the crew are shift workers. The crew respond to about 100 calls per year to various incidents including road traffic accidents, domestic fires and barn fires. Probably the biggest risk in the area is the nearby BNFL Sellafield plant, situated a couple of miles outside Egremont, near Seascale.
Egremont are a standby pump for this site alongside Seascale Fire Station. Egremont is a one pump station (with a Pump Rescue appliance), and many of the crew are BNFL employees which is useful because they are familiar with the layout of the site and the risks involved.
Some of the crew are also employed by BNFL Fire and Rescue. The crew from Egremont station regularly train alongside BNFL Fire and Rescue so that crews are confident in working alongside each other, should there be an incident where there is a need for them to work together.
The townspeople of Egremont are still very supportive of the station today. Many donations are made through collections and sponsorships from the local people for the Fire Services National Benevolent fund. The crew of the station are also keen on promoting fire safety in the area in a pro-active way. The crew attend many of the local school fairs etc, to promote this, including the Egremont Crab Fair, famous for the venue of the world championship Gurning competition held annually in the town, where the crew take up position in the town to promote fire safety on this day.
