Kilchoan Fire & Rescue Team

This is the team at Kilchoan Fire & Rescue station - one other was on leave, and a recruit is in training. We all rest easier in our beds knowing that they are 'on call' day and night, not only to attend fires but, as their title suggests, for any rescue duties, such as vehicle accidents.

This may be a team at a remote village on the far west coast of Scotland, but they are trained to as high standards as any other fire team anywhere in the UK. They can enter a house using breathing apparatus, they can cut a casualty out of a smashed car. These standards come at a price - every member has to attend weekly training at Kilchoan Station, but they also have to go over to Inverness for much longer sessions, for example on the use of breathing apparatus.

This is a 'retained' team - that is, they receive a basic annual salary and are paid, in addition, for attendance at training and 'call outs'. The Diary doubts whether any of them does the job for the money so much as out of a sense of service to the community.

Dave Curtis is team leader. The service has changed almost out of recognition in the last few years, with modern technology deployed not only in the station but in the team's fire appliance (or 'engine' as it used to be called).

Dave is responsible for the team, for training and recruitment, for the station and appliance, and for an essential part of a modern fire service - Home Fire Safety checks. All houses on West Ardnamurchan are checked for safety standards, for example to ensure that smoke alarms are fitted in appropriate places and are working. Perhaps as a result of the efficiency with which this duty has been carried out, the area hasn't experienced a house fire in many years.

Kilchoan Fire & Rescue's station is just out of the village on the Portuairk road. Almost invariably, a wrecked car stands in the yard, sacrificed so the team can train on their cutting equipment.

For more details, visit the station's website here.

The Diary would like to thank the team for their welcome on Thursday evening.