Over the last century or so, the fire brigades of Fawley near Southampton have not only had to deal with the usual domestic blazes and farmyard flames but, thanks to the presence of a nearby oil refinery, have also had to adapt to deal with the threat of highly inflammable, even explosive situations. During an early recorded fire at Cadland Farm in the 1880s, horse-drawn pumps – fed by lines of people passing water buckets – were used to quell an intensive farmyard fire. By the 1930s, part of the Cadland Estate had given way to the early Fawley Refinery, which loaned its Leyland fire engine to the Fawley Volunteer Fire Brigade that operated 1936-39. The Leyland was an example of an early motorised fire engine, with solid tyres, an open crew cab, and a basic wooden ladder. Demands on firefighters increased during the Second World War, and many vehicles were adapted for the National Fire Service; Fawley had two private cars that towed light trailer pumps and a flatbed lorry carrying a water dam.
After the war, responsibility for firefighting provision changed to county level. The pumping appliance known as a Water Tender was the backbone of Hampshire’s fleet, often running alongside the Water Tender Ladder with its longer ladder and enhanced rescue capability. Fawley Fire Station ran both types of vehicle simultaneously from its opening in 1977 until cuts came in 1995. Today under its new name of Hardley it possesses a sole state-of-the-art Rescue Pump. Fire appliance design has been affected by commercial constraints, as the demise of British marques including Bedford, Dodge and Dennis gave way to Volvo fire engines in Hampshire since the early 1990s. Appliance bodywork and locker construction, once carried out by the brigade’s own workshops or at HCB-Angus in Southampton, is today contracted to Emergency One of Ayrshire in Scotland.
Over the years, Fawley Fire Station has been home to a range of special appliances adapted for three main roles: 1) petrochemical firefighting in nearby industry; 2) rural firefighting in the New Forest; 3) high-volume pumping operations locally or nationally, e.g. for severe fires or floods. The expansion of industrial and military activities in the Fawley area since 1945 has been further covered by private fire brigade resources, ranging from a basic Land Rover pump, to an articulated petrol tanker converted to carry foam, to a purpose-designed refinery fire tender.
Roger Hansford is the author of Fawley’s Front Line which investigates the changing role of the fire brigade and celebrates the dedication of fire crews on the Waterside over the last century. It traces how the fire appliance was developed through this period, and adapted for specialist roles in the area.