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| Fire Station that was on London Road |
1830 A Fire Station was built along Stockwell Head. Let to the Inspectors of Lighting and Watching in the 1830s by the Great Feoffment Charity for a nominal annual rent of one shilling. The Fire Station stood on the site of an earlier Fire Station which has been in existence since 1782. The Fire Station housed four manual Fire Engines from 1810 until 1897 when a steam powered Fire Engine was purchased.
22nd January 1901 Queen Victoria died. At the Hinckley Urban District Council meeting there was expressed great sadness and plans were discussed for the day of the funeral. It was agreed that the Fire Brigade would be in the procession on the day of Queen Victoria's funeral.
The Fire Station was situated along London Road, adjoining the old Depot adjacent to Queen's Park.
26th January 1926 The Water, Baths and Fire Brigade Committee of the Hinckley UDC recommended that a Merryweather petrol motor, 'Live Axle' type fire chassis, fitted with a 'Hatfield' reciprocating pump, extension ladder, etc., be purchased. The cost would be £1,200. This was Hinckley's first motorised Fire Engine, replacing a Fire Engine powered by steam.
16th July 1926 It was agreed by the Hinckley UDC that the Fire Brigade were to have new uniforms. They were supplied by the Midland Clothing Supply Company.
By the late 1930s it was described by the town surveyor as 'a disgrace'.
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| The Fire Station on London Road c.1936 |
1938 The Hinckley UDC acquired a disused branch factory of Simpkin, Son & Emery along Leicester Road and adapted it for use as a Fire Station, the cost of purchase and adaptation being £6,000. The council surveyor was Mr J.S. Featherston who carried out the adaptation.
14th January 1939 Hinckley's new Fire Station in Leicester Road, was opened by Councillor Bellfield Coley. The site had previously been occupied by the factory of Simpkin Son & Emery. The building would also contain an Air Raid Precaution (ARP) equipment room.
The total dimensions of the building which was a single storey structure was 119ft by 60ft, that gave a floor area of over 7,000 square feet. The building was divided by partitions into a main Fire Station containing a small office for the chief office, recreation room, and A.R.P. equipment stories. The building was heated by an efficient hot water system.
The full width of the front consisted of half-glazed doors and the centre pairs were fitted with special rapid opening folding doors which were controlled from the driver's seat of the Fire Engines. The building was set well back from the road and the forecourt had been tastefully set out with dwarf walls and greensward.
January 1939 Mr J.S.Featherston, described the old Fire Station as a disgrace to the town and the new Fire Station as a building of which you could feel proud.
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| Floods in Regent Street in Hinckley - June 1984 |
2nd August 1948 After threatening for three days, the storm clouds finally burst over Hinckley. Torrential rain poured down and there were many floods in the district. In Hawley Road a Co-operative van nearly went into a hole that opened up in the road. The hole was widened and became 10 feet deep. Water was gushing from the hole at 1,000 gallons a minute. The Fire Brigade was sent for but it took two days to stop the water.
29th February 1959 One thatched cottage had remained in Church Walk and as this was being demolished the thatch caught fire. The demolition workers could not put out the fire and the Fire Brigade had to be called.
16th July 1978 The old fire station in Leicester Road was demolished to make way for the building of the new one. During building work the Fire Engines were kept in a large marquee on site.
6th June 1986 There was a big fire at Bubbles nightclub, formerly St. George's Ballroom, in The Horsefair. The blaze caused £50,000 of damage. Firefighters from Hinckley, Nuneaton and Leicester were called to fight the blaze. The Bounty in the Market Place was also affected. Smoke poured in through a fire exit shared by the pub and Bubbles.
6th January 1989 A British Midland Boeing 737 plunged into an M1 motorway embankment at Kegworth, killing 44 people. Fire crews from Hinckley Fire Station among others were called to the scene.
March 15 2002 The Fire Brigade were called out when fire struck the Triumph factory that was built in 1990 and destroyed much of the facility halting production.
October 2008 Three firefighters were injured when a fire broke out at Britanna Tyres causing an explosion. The black smoke made tackling the fire difficult for the firefighters. The explosion was thought have been caused by a backdraught which is caused when a fire is starved of oxygen and it is then re-introduced to the fire, such as by opening a door, which can cause an explosion.
2012 The Fire Station closed at the end of the year for a refurbishment to modernise the facilities.
11th August 2014 The Hinckley Fire Station re-opened after 18 months of refurbishment carried out by Kier Construction, costing £2.5 million.
The state-of-the-art facility boasts new firefighters accommodation, a training house with smoke simulation, a new appliance room with space for three Fire Engines, public parking with disabled spaces, renovated yard and a new reception area at the front of the Fire Station.
Due to efficiency changes in 2013 there are now half the number of firefighters working at the Fire Station than before. The Firefighters were down from 28 to 14, but still have to give the same level of cover.
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