Corby Glen Fire Station

Welcome to Corby Glen Fire Station's contribution to the village Web Site. We are a fully retained fire station crewed at the present time with 10 personnel. We answer around 100 calls annually and cover a station ground which includes part of the A1 trunk road and the main line Edinburgh to London railway. We have one major pumping appliance which is equipped to deal with many different tasks. The station is a part of D Division of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and is numbered D6. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has an establishment of 700 uniformed and non-uniformed staff organised from service headquarters at Lincoln through four Divisions: Lincoln, Grantham, Skegness and Boston. The Divisions range from 450 to 700 square miles - a total service area of 2,237 square miles with 38 stations - two wholetime, four day crewed and 32 retained. The service has a fleet of around 100 vehicles including: 48 Fire Pumps, 3 Hydraulic Platforms, in addition to 3 Rescue Tenders, 4 Prime Movers, with 20 demoutable units, a Water Carrier, four wheel drive vehicles, an eight wheel Argocat and various ancillary vehicles.

Our Station Ground

Corby Glen Fire Station is part of D division of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and our station ground takes in a large rural part of the South Kesteven area of the county. With the station only being a few miles from Leicestershire we also provide over the border cover to that county and quite often we attend incidents together with crews from Oakham and Melton Mowbray Fire Stations. We are part of a dual attendance with crews from Grantham covering the very busy A1 trunk road and attend incidents on this section of road from the A52 turn off north of Grantham to the B668 turn off to Oakham. We also provide stand by fire cover for the town of Grantham when their two pumps are committed to an incident or incidents for longer than a period of 16 minutes.

Our Water Tender Ladder

is a 1992 Volvo/Excalibur FL6 Intercooler appliance with GSM callsign Delta 63. It has a 6 speed manual gearbox, differential lock and is equipped with an air operated light mast. Carried are three ladders, 13.5m three sectional ladder, roof ladder and short extension. Hurst crash rescue equipment, stepped chocks and wedges are carried for dealing with road traffic accidents. 100 litres of foam concentrate is available for fire fighting and oxygen therapy along with specialist rope rescue equipment is carried on the appliance. Four electronically sensored Drager Breathing Apparatus sets which work off air containment units which comprise three linked spherical globe air containers rather than the old cigar shaped cylinders are ready to don in the rear cab at all times. An Angus Light Portable Pump along with four lengths of hard suction is carried for pumping from open water. Four Chemical Protection Suits which provide full body protection and are worn in conjunction with breathing apparatus can be found in the rear offside locker.

A Brief History of the Fire Service in Corby Glen

Records of fire fighting in the village are very scanty, but the first effort worthy of note appears to be the formation of a National Fire Service Unit in 1940 under the leadership of Sub Officer Charlie Lambert. Equipment consisted of a small trailer pump, towed by a private car & the station was one bay of "Storey's Engine Sheds" ( now Smith's Coaches) with its door painted red. After the war the station became part of Kesteven Fire Brigade & boasted an Austin Hosereel tender, towing a Dennis trailer pump. The call out system was a siren perched on the Co-op in the High Street & bells in each fireman's home. The call came via telephone to Sub Lambert's house & Mrs Lambert had to run down the street to the Co-op to operate the siren. Later the "DX" system was installed & the siren was moved to Porters Garage in the Market Place. The following years in Kesteven brought a new station on the Bourne Road, a new Bedford water tender & then a radio on the appliance. Major advances in that time were the introduction of pocket alerters (no more listening for the siren) & the advent of breathing apparatus. The station was initially heated by a coke boiler which was eventually replaced with oil, but to the end of its days no one can ever remember it being warm & drill nights were often spent bleeding air from radiators in a futile attempt to keep warm & all this whilst the junior officers were cosily huddled round a portable gas fire in the watchroom. Having said that there are many happy memories of the station which boasted a thriving social club, gaining a number of trophies in Brigade Sports Events. Reorganisation meant goodbye to Kesteven Fire Brigade with the introduction of the county wide organisation - Lincolnshire Fire Brigade. Equipment & training continued to improve, Hand Held Radios, Chemical Protection suits, & CYFAS radio communications evolved. Sadly by 1989 the station had reached crisis point when crew members fell to as few as five & morale was at an all time low. Providing adequate fire cover was proving very difficult, but little did we know that salvation was around the corner in the form of our new Station Officer Fred Johnson. Fred embarked on a crusade of door knocking & publicity campaigns in a recruitment drive that produced five new fire-fighters & was to see the first female fire-fighter on station. Little could we have forseen in the desperate years of the eighties that by the nineties we would have eleven fire-fighters on the roll call located in a new £325,000 state of the art fire station. With this new station came a change of appliance to a Volvo Water Tender-K908 RFW & the introduction of several new pieces of equipment notably: the hydraulic heavy duty cutting equipment, Drager electronically sensored breathing apparatus, Oxylator - Oxygen therapy equipment, GSM (global systems for mobile communications) run on the Vodaphone network, Specialist Rope Rescue Equipment and as we moved into the new millennium another name change to "LINCOLNSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE".

Always wanted to be a fire-fighter?

Have you always wanted to be a fire-fighter but are already in full time employment or maybe you are a housewife and have never entertained the idea - Retained fire fighting could be for you.

Retained Fire Stations such as Corby Glen are operated solely by retained fire-fighters. The station is only occupied on drill nights for training and maintenance purposes.

In general we are always trying to recruit new fire-fighters to provide adequate fire cover for the area.

There is no obligation for you to live solely in Corby Glen to qualify as a fire-fighter, maybe you come from or work in one of the villages surrounding Corby Glen. We already have personnel from Swayfield and Swinstead at the station and would consider personnel from Irnham, Burton Coggles, Bitchfield and Grimsthorpe.

Obligations

The obligations of a retained member are to be able to attend:

A. The station for training for an average of two hours each week;

B. The station within five minutes of a call being received on a pocket alerter (remember we already have personnel from Swayfield and Swinstead).

C. At the fire or other occurrence or at any other station for standby duties in accordance with the orders he/she receives.

Training

After enrolment, recruits must pass training courses in the general duties of a firefighter, in the use of Fire Service appliances and equipment, in rescue work and in First Aid. In addition, all firefighters will be expected to attend further training courses as considered necessary at a Training establishment of the Chief Fire Officer.

Benefits

Successful applicants will find this a very rewarding and exciting addition to their normal work which will increase their skills and give them an opportunity to make new friends. Payments include a retaining fee, drill fees and for all turnouts. A bounty payment is also paid at five yearly intervals throughout a retained fire-fighter's service. In addition you will become a qualified breathing apparatus wearer, a qualified first aider, have the opportunity to pass a Large Goods Vehicle Test and ultimately drive a fire appliance!

Qualifications for Appointment

1. Be not less than 18 years of age.

2. Have an eyesight standard of 6/9 binocular and 6/18 in the worst eye unaided and normal red/green colour perception.

3. Pass a medical examination and remain fit for operational duties throughout their service except for temporary illness or injury.

4. Be available during their hours of cover which can range from 24 hours downwards. In respect of 24 hours cover the applicant must have written permission from his/her employer to be released during normal working hours. Unemployed persons are eligible.

5. Pass simple mathematical calculations, problems and an English test in the form of dictation.

6. Pass the following physical tests.

A. Climbing a 13.5m ladder to ascertain if you suffer from acrophobia.

B. Wear a Breathing Apparatus set in a confined space to ascertain if you suffer from claustrophobia.

C. Undertake tests to assess the isometric muscle strength of hand grip and the combined lifting strength of the back and legs to achieve a measurement of not less than:

A. In relation to the dominant hand, 35kg

B. In relation to the subordinate hand, 33kg

C. In relation to the back and legs as measured by the method known as the leg/back test.

D. Other stamina aerobic related tests

E. Manual dexterity test.

Retained Firefighters are wanted at Corby Glen Fire Station

Female/male applicants are required to provide daytime/night-time or full cover to the local community. Suitable candidates may be from all sections of the community, for example housewives, househusbands, shift workers, local craftspeople, or students.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Ring your Local Recruitment Officer, Station Officer Ford, on 01476 565441, or visit Corby Glen Fire Station on a Tuesday evening between 7 and 9pm.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue (an equal opportunity employer) needs your services in order to continue to serve your community to the highest possible standards.

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