FIREFIGHTERS said goodbye to the station that has been their home for almost eight decades and marked the move to their new £4million building.
The crew from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue left their base in Copenhagen Street on Monday (May 11) and moved to the state-of-the-art Worcester Fire Station on the Great Western Business Park.
Deputy Fire Officer Richard Lawrence gave a speech, before leading a convoy out of the old station, thanking those firefighters who would be moving to other locations.
“This is a significant event for the service and a momentous occasion for Worcester,” he said.
“To the best of my knowledge it has been a journey of more than ten years to find a place for the station just around the corner.
“This old building is an iconic, well known building in Worcester. It’s an impressive building but the inners do not reflect what we need for the service and I am very proud to be able to lead this part of the proceedings.”
He told the crowd the station opened in 1936 and held many memories as hundreds had been through the venue but added the time was right for a new era with the station.
The new site has five bays and houses the city crews’ new water rescue boat, aerial ladder platform and a large training structure at the back.
Chief Fire Officer, Mark Yates, said: “This means having fantastic new training facilities and a station that is now fit for the modern firefighter.
He gave a speech at the opening where he handed the keys to Station Commander Toby Kempton.
“The addition of the new training rig will ensure that we can further prepare and train all types of scenarios, ultimately allowing us to deliver the best service we can to the communities we serve,” Mr Yates added.
The new station was built by regeneration company St Modwen, and the crew themselves had a large input into the design.
Jon Pryce, director of service delivery, said the location of the new base would save money as the Copenhagen Street site cost more than £30,000 to maintain.
“The new shift system has firefighters working here 24 hours a day, sometimes for three days in a row so it really is a home away from home for them,” he said.
“It’s not just a place of work, it’s not just an office. These people go to some very tragic incidents and they come back here afterwards with a lot of emotion, they do fight for people.”
The site now holds a room specially designed for efficiency for water rescue calls and pumps are strategically placed so the time it takes for the crew to fill up the trucks is cut.
A lecture room, gym, bedrooms, rec rooms, study areas and offices for charities and Young Fire Fighter Association are also features of the new building.
