Fire Engine, 1959
Leyland Firemaster, 1959 T.1975.30
"When I started in 1972, the Leyland Firemaster seemed really old – a dinosaur."
Bob James, former Glasgow Fire Service Officer
Comment by William Wilson
The escape part is the wheeled escape on the back, which is the 50ft wheeled escape ladder, the highest reaching portable ladder the fire brigade had. It was a very clumsy and awkward ladder to use. And because of its size, you could only really get to the front of the building ... you couldn't allow it through a close for example, to get to the back of a building it took four men to put it into position, but once it was in position it was a rock steady ladder, and a good means of access to, and escape from, a building.
From: William Wilson, former Glasgow Fire Service officer
Comment by Anonymous Occupational Physician
I worked with the Glasgow Fire Brigade in the early 1970s when they were starting to introduce full-face respirators. Some of the men weren’t keen on wearing these. The old firemen used to think of themselves as smoke-eaters but the nature of fire was changing. Concentration of cyanide gas and carbon monoxide was much more dangerous and more firemen were being affected by that.
From: Anonymous Occupational Physician
Comment by Bob James
Traditionally as a fireman you didn’t normally wear breathing apparatus – you’d breathe in the smoke and you were rated by how much punishment you could take. When I started in 1972 the breathing apparatus wasn’t particularly advanced – mouthpiece, nose-clip, goggles, not a full-face mask like today. It was bulky and a nuisance, but there were times we couldn’t have been without it. It was seen as a last resort but when the officer in charge ordered you to wear it everyone went, ‘aw naw’! Nowadays, breathing apparatus is put on for almost every incident involving fire.
From: Bob James, former Glasgow Fire Service Officer
Questions by Glasgow Museums
How would you redesign a fire engine? Does this one look like a dinosaur to you?
Have you ever seen an engine like the Firemaster in action?
Eyewitness by William Wilson
During training, it was always funny to see firefighters unfamiliar with the layout of the appliance running around it looking for the fire pump! These vehicles were quite a bit taller than other fire engines, and there was a rumour that at least one of the Firemasters carried a small wooden ladder to enable a certain vertically challenged officer to carry out his daily inspections.
From: William Wilson, former Glasgow Fire Service officer
