North Yorkshire Visit
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Visit
Sunday 14th August saw 14 members of The Fire Brigade Society gather at Tadcaster fire station in North Yorkshire for what was the first FBS Visit to the county in a number of years. Having arrived at Tadcaster we greeted by members of blue watch who were very welcoming, having explained what we were after photography of the appliances soon commenced starting with there new 2022 registered Volvo FL/Emergency One bodied WrL one of the newest in the fleet followed by there other appliances which included a 2nd WrL, WrC and HRU.
From Tadcaster we made the short journey to Acomb Fire Station where we was able to photogrpah there two pumping appliances which included 2014 Volvo FL/Emergency One WrL wrapped in the ‘Pride In North Yorkshire’ livery which offered something different to us members.
From Acomb we made the short journey into York city centre to York Fire Station on Kent Street a new station since my last visit to the city many years ago, unfortunately crews were out and after a short wait we decided to cut our losses and move onto Huntington Fire Station located north of the city on York’s ring road, upon arrival here we was greeted by yet another a helpful crew member who offered us water due to the heat which was very kindly accepted by us. On to the photos at Huntington we were treated to the stations pair of WrL’s as well the recently refurbished ALP which had a fresh lick of paint and new LED blue light set-up.
Our next destination was Malton Fire Station up the A64 from Huntington, despite heavy traffic on the A64 members took some back routes and we arrived at Malton on time, upon arrival at Malton we were greeted with the sight of Acomb’s pride WrL for the 2nd time of the day which was on standby cover as Malton’s 1st WrL was detained at an incident for some time, Acomb’s crew as before were very friendly and gladly assisted us with getting photos of the remaining appliances at Malton which included the Counties very smart 2014 Volvo FL/Angloco bodied Incident Support Unit and also the stations Water Rescue Unit land rover.
With photography at Malton complete we was unsure how the rest of the day would plan out due to an ongoing incident, however Gavin Stewart made a phone call and we was assured our next stop Pickering were ready and waiting for us, upon arrival we were greeted with the sight of the stations 4x4 M.A.N appliance in the drill yard, this is 1 of 3 such appliances in the County so it was good to see such an example and also get photo’s of it.
From Pickering we made our short journey west to our next stop which was Kirbymoorside fire station where we was able to photograph there 2013 Volvo FL/Emergency One bodied WrL a recent arrival to the station having coming from Ripon fire station due to the arrival of there new appliance, unfortunately the Argocat off road vehicle was on an incident so we wasn't able to view or photograph this appliance this time around.
Our next stop was Helmsley fire station where members eagerly awaited to view and photograph one of the counties 6 TRV’s which are based on 2016 Iveco Eurocargo chassis with emergency one bodywork, before leaving Kirbymoorside we were informed that Helmsley were still inattendence at a fire involving bracken at Sutton Bank, again good planning by Gavin Stewart a phone call was made and members were instructed to head to Sutton Bank visitors centre car park as an RVP and we would see what happens, upon arrival at Sutton Bank after a short wait we were informed the crew at Helmsley were making up there equipment and would happily meet us to photograph the TRV at the visitors center car park and as promised they arrived with the car park’s greenery provided an excellent back drop for our photo’s of the TRV.
Now onto our last stop of the day which was Thirsk fire station, with members barely having got out our vehicles the stations WrL was being mobilised, they had received a shout which turned out to be a standby move Selby fire station due to ongoing incidents in the county, members managed to grab a few photo’s of the stations WrL on the forecourt of the station before it departed for its standby a journey of 50 miles.
Well the visit was over and members gathered and thanked Gavin for his efforts in arranging the visit and we reflected on what a great day it had been and very muched enjoyed by everyone attending.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Gavin Stewart and Colin Carter on there efforts in arranging such a good visit and more importantly to our hosts North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service whose crews were very helpful throughout the day.
On a personal note this was my first FBS visit in either 4 or 5 years, after a stunning issue of a full colour Fire Cover journal I was very much looking forward to this visit and it certainly lived up to my expectations being such a superb day. I can safely say under the new leadership the Fire Brigade Society is heading in the right direction, I would urge members to attend visits if possible and also submit articles and photos into Fire Cover and make it great again.
Richard Whiting (E/A 3935)