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THREE FIREFIGHTERS DIE IN BALTIMORE BLAZE (25/01)
On 24th January the Baltimore Fire Department in USA lost three firefighters who were killed fighting a serious fire in a residential property block. A fourth firefighter was critically injured and is in hospital. One of the deceased is female.
A letter of condolence is being sent from WRFA to the Chief of Baltimore Fire Department.
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JOHN & TERESA PAYNE BACK IN ENGLAND (28/11)
John and Teresa Payne have moved back from Wales to live in England again. They have a house in the Swindon area. It is thought that their wish to spend more time with their young family has motivated the move. We hope to see more of them now that they are back.
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DEATH OF MICHAEL GRAY (26/11)
With much sadness the death of Michael (‘Dolly’) Gray is reported. Many WRFA members will remember him serving between 1962 and 1984 at Swindon.
The funeral was held at West Wilts Crematorium, Devizes Road, Semington, Wilts. BA14 6HL, n Tuesday 21st December 2021.
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ASSISTANT CHIEF FIRE OFFICER SUSPENDED (22/11)
CFO Ben Ansell has announced that on 17th November 2021 he suspended Assistant Chief Fire Officer Byron Standen from his duties in the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service. The suspension is a neutral act carried out to facilitate an investigations into “serious allegations”. The Service is making no further comment at this early stage of the matter.
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STERT RECYCLING CENTRE ALIGHT (21/11)
A serious fire at a recycling centre near Devizes has kept fire crews from the town and surrounding area busy for two nights and days. Pumps from Devizes, Calne, Pewsey were used plus the water carriers from Pewsey and Royal Wootton Bassett. Residents of houses downwind of the blaze are being advised to keep doors and windows closed.
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TEN PUMP FIRE AT WARMINSTER (17/11)
In the early hours of Wednesday 17th November, 2021, fire broke out in a business unit at Crusader Park Industrial Estate, Warminster. First attendance crews from Warminster asked for assistance and 10 pumps and 2 aerial ladder platforms were mobilised. Some of the pumps came from Devon & Somerset FRS.
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NINE BRAZILIAN FIREFIGHTERS KILLED (15/11)
26 Brazilian firefighters were engaged in a rescue training exercise recently in a cave when a collapse took place killing 9 of them and injuring one other.
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FBU BLOCKS INSPECTION OF ACCOUNTS (31/10)
Under the Trade Unions & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act, 1992 any union member has a right in law to examine the accounts of their own union. A member of the Fire Brigades Union has made such a request and the senior officials have refused to allow the member to see the accounts unless he signs a secrecy agreement that contains several clauses to which he cannot agree. The routine inspection of accounts has also been suspended by the FBU until this internal matter of law has been resolved. The member asking to see the accounts is believed to be acting on behalf of the Campaign for FBU Democracy.
It seems obvious that despite the law requiring trade unions to manage their financial affairs in a transparent manner, the FBU leaders do not wish to have their financial decisions made known to the world.