The Bolton Road Blaze
UPDATE 26th March :
Credit where it’s due? Windsor Firefighters recently attended a serious house blaze in the towns Bolton Road. As a result of this dramatic incident dozens of letters and e-mails of support from local residents were sent to Green Watch who were first in attendance. The Brigade send out an update to most staff entitled ‘Routine Orders’ which has, for decades, published many letters of appreciation from members of the public. Unfortunately, when Green Watch put the Bolton Road messages of support forward for publication within the next ‘Routine Orders’, the Brigade refused to indulge! Are we therefore to assume that the heroic labours of Windsor Firefighters are never to be acknowledged again within ‘Routine Orders’? And if so, for what reason? We suspect you’ve probably guessed why? See the BLOG for more detail
At 12-57 hours on 07 March, a severe house fire occurred in Bolton Road, Windsor. (Incident Number 11698)
This required the attendance of the following FIVE appliances; Windsor, Slough (both), Langley and Maidenhead.
Specialist appliances were also sent from Reading, Slough and Maidenhead / Cookham. Two residents suffered smoke inhalation as a result of such an intense fire.
At 13-14 hours, according to the Incident Record, Berkshire Control informed Buckinghamshire Fire Service that they had ‘…nothing available in Slough area.’
At 13-34 hours, Wokingham were sent to standby (cover) at Slough Fire Station.
Then at 14-59 hours, Wokingham were sent to a bin fire at Peascod Street, WINDSOR! (Incident Number 11701).
The Brigade wishes to close Windsor Fire Station at night to apply the ‘needed resources’, to Wokingham. However, as previously mentioned, our Freedom of Information Act request to the Brigade has yielded statistics which show that Wokingham get only a quarter of the night calls received by Windsor!
Now look at the stretched resources relating to the Bolton Road, Windsor incident, plus the lack of cover in the area, then contemplate the future closure of 5 retained stations in the county and you will appreciate just how important it is to keep Windsor Fire Station open 24/7?
A few of the letters received from concerned residents:-
I was a witness to the ferocity of the fire at 14 Bolton Road on Saturday and it immediately made me think about the proposed forthcoming suspension of 24 hour fire cover for the town.
I sent the attached few words and some of the attached photo's to the Windsor Observer, although I have no idea if they will use any of it.
The key point must be that even before the Windsor engine arrived the property was completely engulfed by acrid smoke issuing from the door and window frames as well as the roof space. This being a busy Saturday afternoon no doubt sped up the reporting of the incident to the emergency services, whereas at night and with a family asleep in their beds I fear this event would have been a greater tragedy.
I'm happy for you to publish any of the attached photos and support the campaign to maintain 24 hour cover at Windsor Fire Station.
Best regards Simon.
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This weekend I witnessed first hand the recent fire at no. 14 Bolton Road. Through the tremendous efforts of the Windsor & Slough fire crews, the fire was successfully dealt with and fortunately no-one was hurt. It is the first time I have witnessed such a fire and I was shocked at the speed with which the fire grew from nothing to ferocious. I note that had the fire burned freely for the extra 10-15 minutes that it took for the Slough fire crew to arrive, the fire would have spread through the building and been a lot harder – and riskier to control. Although I am not an expert in these matters, it seems to me the property would probably not have survived.
As a result I would like to both commend all the fire crews present at that fire for their work, and also to register my support for the Save Windsor Fire Station campaign.
Regards Simon
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As a resident of Bolton Road (number 32), I was horrified to see the aftermath of the fire on Saturday. From my point of view, this episode illustrates how critical it is to have a fire station in Windsor and how lucky it was that nobody was killed.
You cannot put a value on life.
Kind Regards, Richard and Laraine
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I would like to express my support in the campaign to save Windsor fire station.
I was witness to the house fire in Bolton Road over the weekend. It was clear that any further delay in response time would have led to further damage and injury.
The firemen who attended, from both stations, were excellent.
It is clear to me that by not saving Windsor fire station, some costs may be saved, but at what cost to the public. This event clearly demonstrates the benefits of a rapid and response time. It would be unforgivable if a worse lesson had to be learned in order to ensure that the Windsor fire station be saved.
Best wishes Richard
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Subject: RE: Windsor Fire Station
Councillors
With elected power comes the duty of care for the people who chose to put you into power.
The fire on Bolton Road has shocked the neighbourhood into understanding the true significance of rapid response from the emergency services. The Windsor Fire Station crew demonstrated this to its full effect on Saturday when they were able to get to the scene of a bad fire on Bolton Road within minutes of the fire breaking out. The Slough engines were at a minimum 10 minutes behind the Windsor crew, 10 minutes that likely saved the destruction of two period houses and significant damage to adjacent properties.
It seems incalculable that the Windsor Fire station would not be on standby 7x24.. after all fire does not have the predictability and decency to start only when fire crews happen to be on hand to address it. Logic and sensibility should rule the day here and there IS no logic to having partial coverage... and this nonsensical proposal to remove 7x24 cover must be abandoned; after all if it were your house on fire I am sure you and your neighbours would appreciate the speediest response possible.
I don't know if this proposal is your political mandate or if you are trying to fight its introduction, either way you now have 300 households in the Bolton Rd area who are now looking with far more interest as to how you are going to address this issue.
Regards Alistair
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I felt compelled to write to you and pledge my support for Windsor fire station after the fire at 14 Bolton Road on Saturday 7th March. I live on Bolton Road and it brought it home to me that these things DO happen, but the speed of response by Windsor fire brigade clearly made such a difference to the outcome. With all the will in the world Slough Fire Brigade could not have got to the fire any sooner than they did....10 minutes behind Windsor. That is such a scary amount of time when you see a fire roaring and destroying so quickly. How different the result would have been if we no longer had a fire station in our town. I know we are very lucky to have a fire station in Windsor but surely there are so many examples every week of how this is a necessity, not a luxury and we must do all we can to keep the station. Any town would be proud of the role that you play in keeping us safe. I know the campaign to save the station has been running for some time and I always felt that the station should stay. However, after Saturday and seeing a house fire beginning for the first time in my life, I feel so strongly that it would be SO wrong to let the station close.
I hope that letters like mine go some way to show how Windsor feels about this issue. Thank you for your expert handing of the fire at No.14.
Kind regards and my very best wishes for your continued fight, Fiona
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I was recently upated by a neighbour about the fire on 14 Bolton Road on 7 March 2009.
I would like to say how releaved and thankful I was to hear that there were no fatalities relating this incident, and that no further damage to surrounding property was experienced.
I understand one of the key reasons for this, was due to our own local Windsor Fire Station being close enough to be able to render the situation under contol quicker than other district fire crews that had to travel from further afield.
Living on Victor Road and within a terraced house, it is my fear that one day, maybe through no fault of my own, I may be subject to a similar incident that would require such a quick response. In particular I believe that due to there being so many terraces in the area, and hence there being higher probability of damage and in deed fatality in such a situation, there should be a greater need to ensure that our local fire services remain in tact.
Having Windsor Fire Station so close is a gods send and everything should be done to keep it open over night and fundamentally fully functional for years to come. I would rather my council tax was spent on critical services like this than any current recycyling activites or central development schemes for example (of course I am unsure how budgets link). Anyway, I would hope that due to the amount of money I pay per month, I and other fellow residents should expect to receive the appropriate safety provision.
I hope this email can help you with the campaign to keep our local fire station fully operational.
Many thanks Sue-Anne
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I am writing to you to register my vote to save Windsor Fire Station.
I have been a resident of Victor road for 6 years and was deeply saddened and shocked by the fire at No 14 Bolton Road on Saturday 7th March. If it hadn't been for the speed and quick reaction time of the WFB, then who knows what might have happened.
Windsor is a town of great people and historic value and therefore people should feel protected and theirs lives valued.
I wish you all the best with your campaign and know the people of Windsor will be behind you all the way.
The future depends on what we do in the present.
Yours Sincerely
Alistair
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Just wanted to add my support to saving Windsor Fire Station.
I live at 2 Bolton Road and saw at first hand just how quickly a fire can spread (fire yesterday at 14 Bolton Road) and what a difference time can make ie, a fire engine coming from Windsor versus one coming from Slough. I understand that the engine from Slough took a further 10 minutes than the one from Windsor. This must have limited what was still severe damage and I am sure the owners of No. 14 must have been grateful for your speedy response.
Needless to say I think we all have a vested interesting in saving our local Fire Station which would ultimately save our own properties as seen yesterday.
Please do whatever is necessary with this message to add it to the campaign to save Windsor Fire Station.
Kind regards Jane
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A house fire in Bolton Road, Windsor on Saturday afternoon dramatically demonstrated the need for Windsor Fire Station to maintain 24 hour coverage in the town. At its peak 7 fire appliances, a hydraulic platform and mobile control room were deployed to this quiet residential street to bring the inferno under control. As the first appliance from Windsor arrived on scene the semi-detached Victorian dwelling was already enveloped by thick acrid smoke bellowing from the doors, windows and roof space. A two man team wearing breathing apparatus were dispatched into the building, as the crew assessed the situation and called for additional resources. The second appliance on scene arrived some minutes later from Slough and was subsequently joined by crews from neighbouring towns which of course took further valuable time to arrive.
Despite the fact that the incident occurred on a Saturday afternoon with many people out and about to observe, the fire had already spread throughout the dwelling before the first crew arrived. At night and with even a short delay in the arrival of Fire & Rescue teams, the situation might have been even more serious and the consequences for a family asleep in their beds could have been devastating.
Mercifully in this instance it would appear the occupants of the property and neighbours were evacuated without serious injury but with nighttime cover shortly to cease in the town it will only be a matter of time before such an event occurs in the dead of night. In such a scenario critical minutes will be wasted as crews travel from Slough, Maidenhead or Bracknell to Windsor and during this time lives will be put at risk and property will be destroyed.
Full credit to the crews from Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue who executed their duties professionally and courageously, but observing the teams as they exited the house, their clothing, helmets and breathing apparatus covered with black soot, should serve as a reminder that rapid intervention in such circumstances saves lives.
Pictures courtesy of Simon Persse