1997                 P171VSU         Mercedes 814D/Angloco 4x4             VSU

17/11/2011      SF61CXP         Mercedes 816D/Angloco 4x4             VSU

P171VSU is a 4 wheel drive appliance with a 250 gallon water tank and a hose reel on the near side,10.5 metre ladder and a short extension ladder & a roof ladder on a slide off gantry, Hurst cutting gear, 4 Sabre Centurion BA sets and 2 spare cylinders. The featherweight pump has to be lifted out onto a tailgate to be lowered to the ground before use.

1976 to 2005                          Strathclyde Fire Brigade
2005 to 31/3/2013                 Strathclyde Fire & Rescue (Name change only.)
1/4/2013                                 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

These are the original six members of the unit with their Brigade Number recruited 1/6/1976 and the Unit was originally called Blackmount taken from Brigade Bulletin No. 12/76.

The hut was five miles from Bridge of Orchy on Blackmount Estate.

The Unit was started on 1/6/1976, and was formed as a result of a forest fire that year which would have been put out much quicker if there had been a unit nearby.

The unit started at the new station on 10/10/1996 and the Official opening by Firemaster Jameson and Councillor Jennings was on 17/3/1997. The building was handed over to SFB on Friday 23/8/1996.

Drill night Thursday 18-30 to 20-30.

2014 This unit now has Hydraulic cutting equipment (Combi Tool) and is classed as an Advanced Volunteer Unit. Don't know when received.

When the new call signs were being implemented in the WEST SDA over a 7 week period beginning 31/8/2020 doing 1 LSO Area per week, Bridge of Orchy was changed from L74 to E68.

The most serious fire of the year, although not the largest, occurred on 15th October, 1956, at approximately 19-55 hours at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel, Glencoe, Argyll. This hotel was situated in a very isolated part of Argyll and the nearest retained unit was 30 miles away. On the call being received at Oban Fire Station, Argyll, the Oban Unit proceeded to the fire and passed on a message to Area Control who in turn turned out retained units from Kinlochleven, 30 miles distant, Inveraray, 36 miles distant and in addition 2 retained units from the Perthshire Area from Killin and Comrie, 26 and 42 miles distant respectively from the Hotel. The fire was first discovered by the Hotel porter who saw flames shooting out of the window of a bedroom on the top floor and travelling rapidly to the roof. He immediately warned the staff and the guests who were at dinner. Some of the guests, on being informed of the fire, made attempts to get up to their bedrooms to retrieve their belongings but, unfortunately, the heat and smoke was too dense and they had to evacuate the Hotel. Within twenty minutes of the alarm being raised the top floor and roof were involved. At approximately 21-00 hours the first appliance arrived at the scene of the fire when it was found that the whole building was involved and that the roof had collapsed. Two featherweight portable pumps were immediately got to work from the River Orchy some 500 feet away, 4 jets were soon in operation and were used to prevent the fire from spreading to an adjoining tearoom and shepherd’s cottage. In all 5 jets were required to extinguish the fire. The efforts of the Brigade proved successful in confining the fire to the Hotel and in preventing any damage to the tearoom and cottage.
The retained unit from Oban had the misfortune, after travelling some 35 miles, to be involved in a serious accident on the bleak moorland road when only 9 miles from the Hotel. The Austin Towing Vehicle which crashed into a high embankment was completely wrecked. Five of the six members of the crew received injuries of varying degrees, two of which proved to be serious. The crew of six were removed to hospital in Oban and after treatment four were allowed home. The other two were detained, suffering from multiple injuries and, although now out of hospital, are still being given medical treatment.
(Western Area Fire Brigade Annual Report 1956. Page 6.)

OFFICIAL OPENING 

Bridge of Orchy
Fire
Station 

17^th March 1977 

ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS

GUESTS ASSEMBLE

PLATFORM PARTY ASSEMBLES 

OPENING REMARKS
Vice Convener J. Shaw JP
Strathclyde Fire Board 

DEDICATION OF STATION
Rev. D. McLeod 

FIREMASTER’S REMARKS
John Jameson QFSM, AIFireE, CIMgt 

CLOSING REMARKS
Vice Convener J. Shaw JP
Strathclyde Fire Board

BUFFET  

BRIDGE OF ORCHY
VOLUNTEER UNIT 

The first volunteer unit at Bridge of Orchy was formed by Strathclyde Fire Brigade on 1^st June 1976, and was located at Blackmount. The first leader, until his retiral in 1992, was Hamish Menzies, Head Stalker on Blackmount Estates. The second was Kenneth MacLennan who remained as leader until he also retired in 1994. David Menzies, the third and present leader, son of Hamish took over in 1994, and he has been heavily involved with the move to the new fire station at its present site.
The original, very basic equipment consisted of a portable pump, suction hose, 10 lengths of delivery hose and several branches. This equipment was stored in a shed at Blackmount Estates, where it remained until October 1996, when the new station became operational.
Over the years, Bridge of Orchy has attended a number of important incidents which include major forest and heathland fires, as well as attending to an increasing umber of serious road traffic accidents.
Since the announcement of the upgrade of the unit, personnel have been strenuously involved in a recruitment campaign resulting in a total of seven volunteer members, five male and two female, now forming the compliment of the unit.
The new fire station has been designed by Brigade Operations section together with Argyll and Bute Council, Department of Property and Technical Services.
It is a compact self contained economical unit conceived to satisfy the requirements imposed on the Brigade by COSHH regulations.
In addition to the building, the Brigade has ensured compliance with the regulations by providing a complete complement of breathing apparatus, with recharging facilities, additional firefighting equipment, upgraded personnel protection for the crew and a specifically designed volunteer firefighting vehicle.

MAIN CONTRACTORS
Alexander Black (Builders) Ltd
Lower Soroba
Soroba Road
Oban PA34 

ARCHITECTS
Argyll and Bute Council
Department of Property & Technical Services
Director:- Mr D.C. Reynolds, B.Sc. (Hons), F.R.I.C.S.