The Second World War changed a lot of things concerning
everyday life, and the fire service was included in
that. It had become apparent that a more united fire
service would be beneficial to communities; pooled resources
available to every place would mean more efficient firefighting and
rescue operations. This led to the establishment of the
National Fire Service, which took control until the late
1940s.
Thereafter, various areas combined their means and various local
authorities amalgamated to form smaller units - Ayrshire and
Dumfriesshire's service became known as the
South Western Area Fire Brigade. As further changes
in local councils occurred, the boundaries shifted and eventually
the fire service settled into groups such as Strathclyde Fire
Brigade - still called this even though Strathclyde Regional
Council as such no longer exists.
Fire fighting equipment has not changed much over the
years - there has been no great need for redesign, but the most
obvious difference is the
fire engine itself.
The first engines were more like chariots, being pulled by
horses, and they were worked manually, with a team of men on either
side to work the pump. This must have been very
strenuous work and sometimes a spare team was on standby to take
over if necessary. Not all towns had a fully functional
underground water supply with pipes at the time (later
19th century) and until a pipe system and hydrant
was installed, these types of places had to make do with a fire
engine which brought a supply of water with them, worked manually -
if the water was insufficient to quell the flames, a new supply
would have to be fetched, wasting precious time.
The service was further streamlined by the installation of an
alarm system, which was connected to all the fire officers' homes
throughout the town, although some fire stations included
accommodation for the men so that they were on site at all
times. However, they did not just sit around waiting for
calls; they had to have training in rescuing animals as well as
people, first aid, equipment handling.
The fire brigade no longer charges for callouts within the
locality, but at one time they did. A fixed charge was
implemented, at least in Ayrshire, and extra payment was requested
if the engine was taken out of its 'home' area.
Fire marks could be fixed to a building exterior to show
that the occupants had insurance against fire; these were usually
made of metal and bore the emblem of the relevant insurance
company.