A Sad Day For The Preservation Group
Destruction On The M8
Saturday July 17th is a date Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Preservation Group will always remember.
After a successful day at the second Paisley Festival of Fire on that day in 2010, our 110-year-old Merryweather Gem Steam Fire Pump was being transported on a trailer back to its temporary home at the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Training Centre in Glasgow.
During the trip, the towing vehicle and trailer jacknifed and the trailer overturned, dislodging the Steam Fire Pump, which ended up in a tangle of brass, iron and wood in the centre lane of the busy M8 motorway.
Thankfully, no one was injured, but damage to the Merryweather Gem was substantial and everyone at the scene feared we had lost an irreplaceable item of Scottish Fire Service History.
After Strathclyde Police and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Fleet Services attended the scene, the shattered remains of the pump were lifted by the recovery team and taken to Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Workshops in Glasgow.