Fire Engines Photos

That view of the rear of that water tender brings back so many memories. Memories of me as a child with my mate whose dad was the sub officer of our local retained fire station playing in the appliance bay on drill night, once the drills were finished, the appliances were back in their places, and the firefighters were in the bar! My mate preferred the Ford WrL and would climb into the drivers’ seat, stick the blues on and dare to let rip with the two-tones! Which we often did - until we got told off that is. But I loved the Bedford WrT and its silver stucco bodywork, its wooden ladders, wicker basket filters, and the smell of the oil and the leather!

Great great memories..... I think modern fire service managers would have a fit thinking about what me and my mate got up to at our fire station! We even climbed the training tower one icy winter’s night! Looking back, I think my mate’s sub officer dad would’ve belted us had he caught us though.

Added by Yelp Bullhorn on 22 November 2021.

There was indeed something unique about the smell of a fire station back then. Oil drips from the engines, a faint whiff of petrol and rubber, a hint of brass and wax polish, floor cleaner and the inevitable smoky smell which hung on the appliances and uniforms - all combined into a fire station odor - which still sticks in my memory seventy years after I first set foot in the old Borough Road station in Darlington.

Added by Rob Johnson on 19 March 2022.

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