Firefighting on Lismore (1)

Life can be precarious on an island, with heavy reliance on each other, on ferries, air ambulances and of course the volunteer firefighters. Today we are lucky to have a reliable, well-trained firefighting team who go from strength to strength, have many skills, and are part of a long line of firefighters, all dedicated to making us feel safer..

It was not always so. To date there have been some serious fires but only one fatality when, in 1962, Mrs MacCorquodale of Achuaran Cottage died. The late Isobel Buchanan, a nurse on the island for many years, told me she had organised the bucket team which helped deal with this tragic event. Clearly, before 2005 things were a lot more precarious, as the following report of a fire in 2004 demonstrates.

Dramatic Fire at Point, 20 March 2004

The Lismore people have reason to be grateful to their volunteer firefighters after they dealt with what could have become a disaster at Point. It started when Professor John Gage of Dunstaffnage, who is renovating the old Smithy, parked his car and caught the 5 pm ferry to Port Appin. His Fiat Uno had been backfiring but the last thing he expected as he looked back was to see it ablaze. The ferryman went back immediately but someone had already rung 999 and within minutes volunteer firefighters, Duncan Brooks and Gill Bridle, were at the fire hut loading the four-stroke petrol engine and the two portable fire pumps capable of delivering 250 gallons of water per minute. Duncan left his mother at Killean Farm to phone the rest of the crew, four of whom were available and responded rapidly: Mairi Perkins, Gilleasbuig Black, Jon Derham and Mark Willis.

However by the time the three nozzles were in action, a Nissan Micra next to the Uno was ablaze, petrol tanks were exploding, and it looked as though the entire row, if not the car park, could go off like a box of crackers.

At this point Mark Willis saved the day by jumping into a Volvo, backing it out and making a fire break on one side. The Land Rover on the other side did get badly scorched but fortunately the wind had dropped and they got the fire under control before it spread.. Most alarming was that the island’s ambulance, parked opposite, was carrying a number of oxygen cylinders.

Of the nine crew only John Carmichael and Douglas MacDougall were off the island but even they, seeing the blaze from the ploughing match in Appin, came immediately.

The irony is that since October 2003 Lismore has had a brand new fire station waiting for a fire engine. A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire Board said: ‘Although the fire station looks finished there are certain things the clerk of works is not happy with, and Strathclyde cannot pay for and take possession of the station until the work is done’. A Mercedes unit is on its way but he couldn’t say exactly when it would come.

History

Lismore’s official firefighting service is thought to have started in 1939, when the military arrived on the island. They also installed the water supply which now feeds a hugely expanded population in Achnacroish.

Donald Black’s book Sgeul No Dhà às an Lios: A Tale or Two from Lismore has a chapter, ‘Echoes of War in the Firth of Lorn and Lismore’, which describes the ships arriving and the sudden bombing raid (there was just the one) followed by the installation of anti-aircraft guns at Achnacroish, and Baligrundle 1 and Baligrundle 4. And then watching them building housing for the gunners.

He writes that for five years the island was an important protected area, until suddenly it was over and the Firth filled with old, worn-out vessels waiting to go to scrap. And then nothing but the scene we see today.

The first leader of these firefighters was Colin Stewart who ran two taxis, sold coal and ran the island Post Office at Achnacroish.

After the war, crew numbers dwindled through natural causes. In 1962 a volunteer unit was set up by the Western Area Fire Brigade following the death of Mrs MacCorquodale in Achuaran Cottage. The new unit was led by Donald Black with Bill Willis, Donnie MacCormick, Jim Corrigan, W McArthur, D McArthur and Archie Stewart (son of Colin, the first leader). Ken Munro (of Munro’s Garage in Oban) was supervisory officer based in Oban.

Their equipment was a two-man hand pump, suction and delivery hose, an axe, shovel and a couple of canvas buckets. A Suzuki motorised water pump was issued to the unit in 1964 and all the equipment was stored in a large aluminium box secured to a brick shed at Achnacroish.

In 1981 the unit got its first station – a wooden hut – to store its equipment. Members were also issued with their own uniforms – pith helmets, yellow leggings and rubber boots. In 1994 the hut was moved to a more central position near the public hall until it was replaced by the new fire station in 2005.

The New Fire Station

The building began in 2003 and became operative on 1 October 2004 (eight months after the fire at Point) although without the Mercedes fire appliance complete with ladders, breathing apparatus and trauma care equipment. This appliance was sent instead to Tiree after a devastating fire destroyed most of their fishing fleet -a fire heroically fought by their volunteer firefighters. It was agreed by most that they deserved the new appliance ahead of Lismore. In the meantime a replacement water carrying Land Rover defender appliance (pictured) arrived in September and Lismore received their Mercedes appliance several months later. By this time Mercedes had ceased production of this particular vehicle but were persuaded to make just one more for Lismore.

Even before any of this, the crew made do with a two-person Land Rover, capable of driving anywhere, but not of carrying water or manpower.

Also in October 2004, Strathclyde Fire Service connected the station to the Command Headquarters at Clydebank and all calls were directed there and the firefighters on Lismore paged.

However, before the station became operative, all volunteers had undergone extensive training and this continues today, at the station and around Lismore once a month. In addition, four firefighters meet every Monday to maintain the station in tip-top condition.

From 1939 until 2024 the following have served as volunteer leaders: Colin Stewart, Archie Stewart, Donald Black, Donnie MacCormick, Archie MacColl, Deirdre Campbell, Duncan Brooks, David Meddes, and Simon Lewis. We have reason to be grateful to them and their teams.