News

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MIKE GRIMSHAW HONOURED BY THE KING  (16/06)

Mike Grimshaw received the British Empire Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours List. We are delighted and know that this recognition of his public service is very well earned. Mike is an honorary member of WRFA and gives the association very valuable service in a variety of ways. Mike is an on call watch manager at Chippenham Fire Station. His fulltime job is as the senior sales manager for a company making and marketing electronic switchgear.

Mike served in the RAF Regiment as an officer before changing his career path. His expertise and experience as a foot drill instructor have been called upon in the recent past to train and marshal each year the emergency services contingent at the National Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph in London. Mike is heavily involved in the planning of the funerals of the two fire service members who lost their lives in the Bicester Motion fire on 15th May. Well done, Mike Grimshaw BEM.

DEATH OF TONY FELLENOR  (30/05)

With deep sorrow the death of TONY FELLENOR is reported. Tony died in the early hours of Friday 30th May at his home in Chippenham. For several months Tony knew that he had cancer in several parts of his body and hospital treatment in Bristol did not result in more than extending his life for a short time. Our hearts go out to Sue and all the family and friends who we know will miss him so dearly.

Tony was a much valued member of Wiltshire Fire Brigade and also of this Association. The funeral was held on Monday 16th June 2025, at West Wiltshire Crematorium, Semington. The wake followed at The Pheasant pub, Chippenham. R.I.P Tony

RECYCLING PLANT FIRE DECLARED “MAJOR INCIDENT”  (25/05)

On 23rd May yet another recycling plant fire occurred. This time it was Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service that had to deal with it. Fire broke out at a warehouse on the Sanders Lodge Industrial Estate in Rushden. A large quantity of plastic was stored on the site. Assistance from Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue Service was called upon and the decision to declare it a major incident was a multi-agency one. Fire crews are expected to be at the site for days. The cause has not been announced. No injuries have been reported.

FIRE AT BRISTOL HOSPITAL CAUSES EVACUATIONS  (25/05)

Fire broke out at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol on 22nd May and patients and staff from maternity wards had to be evacuated as a precaution. Avon Fire & Rescue Service was congratulated for confining the severe fire to the roof enabling the hospital to rapidly resume normal patient care. No injuries were reported. The fire is reported to have been caused by a faulty solar panel. Photo by BBC.

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TWO OXFORDSHIRE FRS FIREFIGHTERS KILLED  (16/05)

At 6.39pm on 16th May Oxfordshire FRS received a call to Bicester Motion at a former RAF base. Pumps were made 10. Several serious explosions occurred within the building involved and the smoke plume generated by the f ire drifted over a large area. Two firefighters were killed while tackling the fire and two others were seriously injured. A member of the public also died. CFO Rob MacDougall paid tribute to the bravery of all emergency service personnel involved in dealing with the fire. A representative of Bicester Motion also paid tribute to the bravery of the emergency services describing their bravery as overwhelming. The building involved contained preserved vehicles and aircraft. A message of condolence from WRFA has been sent to CFO MacDougall.

DEANA GENTLEMAN HAS HAD HIP REPLACEMENT  (12/05)

Deana recently suffered a fall at home in Shrivenham and had to be admitted to GWH Swindon where it was discovered that she had fractured the neck of her femur. She was discharged to home on 10th May and John is now finding his duties as her carer increased considerably. Deana is continuing to be treated for leukaemia. Her condition is stable. We send our best wishes to both Deana and John.
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STATE PENSION NEWS  (17/04)

Torsten Bell MP, minister at the Treasury responsible for state pension matters, proclaimed on 16th April 2025 that the Labour Government has no plans to scrap the Triple Lock formula for calculating increases in the UK state pension. He went further by stating that the present government will not be applying means testing to the state pension. This could mean that the UK state pension is nearly £2,000 higher by the end of the current 5-year parliament.

DEATH OF MAC JACKSON  (13/04)

Mac died peacefully on 11th April with his family around him. He had been suffering from dementia. Our condolences have been sent to Faye and the family. The funeral will be held at 12.00 noon on Wednesday 14th May 2025, at West Wilts Crematorium, Semington.

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TWO MADRID FIREFIGHTERS KILLED BY EV FIRE  (04/04)

On 2nd April in a suburb of Madrid a fire in an underground car park killed two firefighters and a third was seriously injured. Ten other firefighters suffered less serious injuries. The fire involved an electric car that crashed into a column and its battery ignited causing a very fierce fire. Lithium battery fires are known to be very difficult for first responders to deal with and even in the open air they can produce flame projection and toxic smoke in large volumes. Underground these threats are magnified. The local authority has declared three days of official mourning to mark the sacrifice of the firefighters.

E-BIKE FIRES : RAIL UNION FORCES BAN  (30/03)

Following a fire caused by an e-bike at Rayner’s Lane Tube Station in London the train driver’s trade union, ASLEF, demanded that Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, put a ban on e-bikes being taken into London underground stations and carried on trains. When the mayor showed a reluctance to apply a ban ASLEF threatened to take strike action. The ban has now been imposed.
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MALE NAIL PAINTING IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE FRS  (30/03)

Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service has received a storm of criticism for a project it intends will “redefine masculinity” for the service. Male firefighters painted their finger nails as part of the “Hard As Nails” campaign which seeks to break down barriers by challenging stereotypes. The numerous critics of the project condemn it as a waste of time and resources and suggest a better use of these could be found.
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DEATH OF DENNIS ROBINS  (26/03)

The sad news that Dennis Robins died on 25th March has reached the WRFA. Dennis was Chief Fire Officer of Wiltshire from 1978 to 1986. He retired on ill health from WFB and went to the Home Office as one of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Fire Services. His career began in London Fire Brigade and he served in East Sussex before arriving in Wiltshire. In retirement Dennis lived in East Sussex and he suffered a long period of ill health there prior to his death. He was 93. The funeral was held on 9th April at at Tribes Funeral Directors, 101 Eastern Road, Shoreham by Sea.

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HUMBER ESTUARY SHIP FIRES COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE BUT FOR TANKER CREW’S ACTIONS  (19/03)

Recent collision and subsequent fire involving a container cargo ship and an oil tanker was prevented from being far worse by the actions of the tanker crew before they abandoned ship. The tanker was struck mid ships by the cargo vessel rupturing one tank containing jet fuel which caught fire immediately. The crew activated the fixed firefighting monitors that provided boundary cooling. This prevented tanks adjacent to the one on fire becoming involved. The tanker was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel but only about 17,000 barrels were lost to fire. Had the full cargo of fuel become involved the incident would have been even more serious than it was.

CFO & DCFO OF NORTHUMBERLAND SUSPENDED  (14/03)

CFO Graeme Billing and DCFO Jim McNeil of Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service have both been suspended. This action by the fire authority comes following an investigation into the service’s culture.

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Culture change needed at the top of Shropshire FRS  (27/02)

The Chief Fire Officer of Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service, Simon Hardiman, and his Assistant CFO, Adam Matthews, have been accused by the service’s own auditors of sending to each other emails that contain remarks insulting to female members of their own service. The auditors reported the two senior officers to the Fire Authority and an investigation followed. The Fire Authority has given a formal warning to CFO Hardiman but allowed him to stay in post. Adam Matthews resigned before the investigation was complete. The Fire Authority is calling upon the top managers to bring about a culture change in the Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service and to do so by setting a better example.
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AIR FRYERS CAUSING COSTLY FIRES  (19/02)

The increased popularity of air fryers has led to a spike in the number of fires in the UK. This has now become so serious that insurers have issued a warning. Many users of air fryers regard them as ‘fire safe’ but they can cause fires due usually to improper use such as overloading, overheating or electrical faults. The insured loss from these fires is a matter of concern and Aviva has given statistics that show the average cost of a fire caused by an air fryer is £30,000.

The UK National Fire Chief’s Council and the Home Office have yet to comment.

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TUNNEL FIRE CAUSES FATALITIES  (15/02)

A heavy goods vehicle passing through the Green River tunnel in Wyoming, USA has crashed and caught fire. Emergency services are facing an exceptionally challenging incident that is known to have killed two people and put seven in hospital. It is feared that further fatalities will be discovered eventually but a raging fire is keeping fire and rescue teams from gaining control. They have withdrawn to the tunnel exterior because a collapse of the tunnel structure is feared will take place.

FORMER LFB STATION ABLAZE  (15/02)

A 119 year old Grade II listed building that used to be A22 Manchester Square Fire Station in London caught fire shortly before 3.00pm on Friday 14th February 2025. 20-pumps attended crewed by 125 firefighters. The building is now the Chiltern Firehouse Hotel and Restaurant, a very prestigious venue often patronised by the good and the great of the city. At the time of the outbreak of f ire about 100 people were evacuated to the street. There are no reports of any casualties. Early indications are that the fire broke out in the kitchens of the restaurant and then spread through ducting to involve other floors and a plant room at roof level.

SLOW PROGRESS REMOVING DANGEROUS CLADDING  (10/02)

Speaking on BBC TV on 9th February, the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, said that there are 4,000 buildings above 18m high in the UK that the Government knows have external cladding as dangerous as that used on Grenfell Tower. The removal of these panels from buildings that are still occupied and in use is progressing very slowly. Angela Rayner declared that the Government is insisting that 50% of these buildings have the cladding removed by 2029.

The fire at Grenfell Tower occurred in June 2017. In addition to the 4,000 properties affected known to the Government, it has recently been admitted by ministers that there may well be up to a total of 7,000 buildings that need the dangerous cladding removed.