Anyone
who is involved in the restoration of old appliances will agree that
the most sought after commodity is that of storage space.
Thanks to the generosity of Firemaster Jeff
Ord, we now have four appliances in city stations.
The Preservation Group works closely with the Brigade
and on one occasion we formed part of a National Fire Safety event.
Recently we took part in the highly successful Millennium Statue
Project.
All of our appliances were former Strathclyde
Fire Brigade vehicles and as such represent a little
bit of Fire Brigade history. We hope that by maintaining these
appliances and keeping the high standards we set, we can create
our own living museum and project the history of firefighting in
Strathclyde.
Ronnie Rusack
Ronnie Rusack is responsible for starting the ball rolling with
my involvement in the preservation of old appliances. I phoned Ronnie
one morning after reading about an appliance which was coming up for
auction. My timing however could not have been worse as the Bridge
Inn was under attack from man made and natural disasters.
Once normality had returned Ronnie returned the call and said OK. I
went to the auction on his behalf and managed to purchase a rather
sad looking Commer Water Tender. On closer examination the appliances
was found to be in very good condition and so fire engine restoration
and a new chapter in my life had begun. That was 8 years ago and between
us we now have 9 appliances.
Glasgow
City Council.
When our group took delivery of our Bedford Green Goddess
appliance, storage was a bit of a problem, we did not have anywhere to
put it. I decided to make a few phone calls, well a lot actually and
got absolutely nowhere. The prospects of a Green Goddess sitting in my
driveway now seemed very likely. In desperation I tried Glasgow City
Council's City Building department's garage and spoke to Mr Ross Blyth.
After explaining our predicament and the aims of our group he said YES.
We owe much to Ross and to Gordon Charnley whose knowledge
of all things mechanical have helped enormously, but mainly for believing
in our aims and objectives.
Colin Hutton.
When we took delivery the Dennis F8, Glasgow City Council
agreed to store that for us along side the Goddess. Not long after the
F8 had arrived at Hawthorn Street, it was visited by Colin Hutton of
the Colin Hutton Group. The sad little appliance had impressed him and
he left word for us to make contact.
Bill Gordon and myself went to see Colin only to find
out he had been a fireman himself and that the F8 had brought memories
of his time at the South Fire Station in Glasgow. Colin told us that
he would like to assist our group by giving the F8 a much needed paint
job and what a job they made of it as can be seen by the photographs.
Colin and his staff have helped with many of our projects
and a big thanks go to them.
Dennis Scott
Dennis Scott is a retired Leading Firefighter from Grampian
Fire Brigade.
He maintains a collection of appliances ranging from an
1890’s steamer to a 1960 Dennis F26. The jewel in his crown
is a superb 1915 Dennis appliance (ex Glasgow) which is now back in running
condition. Dennis's ambition is to have the old King Street fire station
in Aberdeen turned into a Fire Brigade museum where the collection of
appliances and his extensive collection of Fire Brigade memorabilia can
be put on permanent display. Unfortunately his plans have not materialised
and he needs support to enable his ambition to become reality.Dennis
has helped us with many projects and we have joined forces on a several
occasions to promote a small but important part of Fire Brigade history.
Dennis can be contacted through Grampian Fire Brigade
Headquarters, North Anderson Drive, Aberdeen.
Anyone
who is involved in the restoration of old appliances will agree that
the most sought after commodity is that of storage space.
Glasgow
City Council. 
Contact : Bob
Wright