Fire Engine, 1928
Albion Merryweather fire engine, Merryweather & Sons, London T.1968.38
“If the brakes went on hard, you’d be thrown in the air … You were on a fire engine, not in one.”
Wilf Peers, former Fire Service Officer
Comment by William Wilson
Basic firefighting today hasn’t changed, certainly since I joined the fire brigade. The appliance goes up to a building; the crew dismounts; they grab the hose and run into that building and put out the fire.
From: William Wilson, former Glasgow Fire Service Officer
Comment by William Wilson
Then, you were a smoke eater, you could do that in those days because it was mostly class A materials – wood, paper … upholstery was horsehair … but with the stuff we’ve got in houses now, the plastics, there’s just no way you could do that.
From: William Wilson, former Glasgow Fire Service Officer
Comment by Wilf Peers
On one return journey, the chief fire brigade officer turned round to check we were all standing smartly, to create a good impression on the public. It was a reminder of the importance of appearance and the fact that officers were on show on an open-bodied fire engine
From: Wilf Peers, former Liverpool fire officer
Question by Glasgow Museums
If you needed to call 999, would you be reassured to see this engine arriving?
Eyewitness by Frank Dolan
To raise the alarm, my uncle would ride around the green on a bicycle to call on the officers, who all lived there. It was compulsory for retainees to live in Bowling Green.
From: Frank Dolan, Station Officer, Galway Fire and Rescue Service
Eyewitness by Frank Dolan
They broke a lamp off going over a bridge … another bridge was notoriously narrow. Also, the roads were poor quality … the Merryweather didn’t go much faster than 12 miles per hour. It was dangerous enough as it was, with no safety precautions.
From: Frank Dolan. [whose grandfather drove this engine]
