Former retained firefighters and officers have been invited to join serving crew members in Stone to celebrate the station’s rich history before it makes way for a brand new community facility.
The current fire station in has served the town since July 1975 but is now set to be replaced by a purpose built base.
Before the team moves to a temporary station on the site during week commencing December 9th, a special celebration will take place at 6.30pm on November 26th at the existing site.
All current and former firefighters who have worked at the station are invited to reminisce and share their experiences, photographs and memorabilia. Chief Fire Officer Peter Dartford is also attending the event. Work to demolish the existing building will start towards the end of January 2014. The new community fire station will be fully operational by mid-February 2015.
Stone Watch Manager Mike Burnside said: “This is a great opportunity for firefighters who have been based in Stone and worked hard to keep the local community safe to have a last look around the station and to share their stories with serving crew members and vice versa.
“We are in a very exciting era for the fire service and are looking forward to moving into the new community station when the building is complete in 2015. It will be a real hub for residents who will be able to enjoy the facilities on offer including dedicated rooms and amenities for local groups as well as fitness equipment which will be available for supervised gatherings to use.”
Stone Community Fire Station is one of 11 rebuilds being funded through a £45 million Private Finance Initiative. The project is the second phase of an innovative programme to provide state-of-the-art fire stations across Staffordshire, which are also community-focused with facilities to benefit local people.
The first phase of the scheme also received £45 million in funding and saw three additional stations developed and seven stations replaced between October 2009 and September 2011.
Community stations that opened in stage one currently provide a meeting place for more than 200 different groups, charities and public sector organisations across the county, ranging from Staffordshire Police, the NHS, Citizens Advice Bureau and housing associations to music for the Turkish community, creative writing clubs and gardening groups.
The event runs from 6pm to 8pm and includes refreshments and snacks. Former firefighters who want to attend should contact Jack Reinholds on 07525 447478 or j.reinholds@staffordshirefire.gov.uk
Related Posts:
