Tag: red plaque

Red Plaque unveiled for Firefighter Barry Martin

On Saturday (27 January), memorial plaques were unveiled to commemorate and celebrate the life of firefighter Barry Martin, one year on from his death in the line of duty.

A Fire Brigades Union (FBU) Red Plaque was unveiled alongside a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Memorial Plaque at McDonald Road Fire Station on Saturday at a private ceremony attended by members of Barry’s family, fire service colleagues and their families, along with representatives from the Fire Brigades Union and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The Red Plaque project is funded by the Firefighters 100 Lottery and creates memorials for firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty across the UK.

Shelley Martin, wife of Barry Martin, said: “Barry Martin was, and will always remain, the heart and soul of our family. There is nothing right about our profound loss, but what we must do, is do right with what we are forced to live with. That is, living a life without his physically here to have and to hold.

“Therefore, what is right, is to celebrate our extraordinary Barry, who shines through his beautiful sons Oliver and Daniel, and forever blazes with a ferocious love in our hearts. We thank everyone who helped us to make this day, about Our Barry.”

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said: “As we mark one year since he lost his life in the line of duty, Barry Martin and his loved ones will be in the thoughts of firefighters everywhere.

“The plaques unveiled in his memory will provide a place of reflection and remembrance for all who knew him, and for future generations of firefighters to pay their respects. 

“The Fire Brigades Union honours Barry’s dedication and bravery. We commemorate his life and work with pride, and we will ensure he is remembered always.”

Seona Hart, Fire Brigades Union Scotland treasurer said: “The Red Plaques play an important role for the loved ones of the firefighters they remember, as well as sharing their stories with the community.

“As we unveil the FBU Red Plaque at McDonald Road Fire Station, we are not only gathered to remember Barry, but also to celebrate him as husband, father, son, comrade, brother and friend.”

Plaque unveiled for firefighter who died in line of duty

A plaque has been unveiled for a Glasgow firefighter on the fiftieth anniversary of his death in the line of duty.

Adrian McGill, aged 34, was attempting to rescue a trapped woman in a fire at Maryhill Road in Glasgow, and it is thought that in an attempt to save her life he gave her his oxygen mask. His body was later found with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Tragically, the woman also died.

The incident took place on 18 November 1972.

The plaque was unveiled at Maryhill Fire Station yesterday (Friday 18 November).

Adrian McGill was married with three children, with his youngest child being just eight months old. He was the eighth Glasgow firefighter to die in a fire in three months, with seven firefighters dying in the Kilbirnie Street textile warehouse blaze in August, and the 27th to have lost their life in the previous 12 years.

The Fire Brigades Union’s Red Plaque Scheme commemorates firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union General Secretary, said: “Firefighters will always do everything they can to save lives. Adrian McGill’s bravery extended to laying his life down in an attempt to save another.

“It is so important that what he did is never forgotten. Red Plaques help firefighters to feel connected to those who came before them and helps them to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“The Fire Brigades Union is proud and privileged to play a role in making sure that Adrian McGill is remembered.”

Seona Hart, FBU Scotland Regional Treasurer, said: ““Adrian McGill made a split-second decision out of care for someone else, a stranger who he had never met before, and a decision which he would have known came with huge risk.

“It is self-sacrifice on an almost indescribable scale. There’s a quote that states that there is no more stirring symbol of our humanity towards others than a fire engine. Adrian McGill and what he did personify that.

“This plaque will ensure that the Glasgow community knows about the sacrifice that Adrian McGill made, and it will help Glasgow’s firefighters remember one of their own.”

At Adrian McGill’s funeral the then-Archbishop of Glasgow, James D. Scanlan, said: ‘So often our firemen have to risk their lives protecting us in Glasgow from fire. The example of this brave fireman and his predecessors who have given their lives so unstintingly and unhesitatingly will be an inspiration to all of us …

‘When his children grow up they will be able to tell their children, and their children’s children of the epic heroism of their father‘.

The incident began after a serious fire developed in a shop on Maryhill Road, Glasgow. A witness statement stated that a “massive flashover” occurred. People were encompassed in black smoke including on the road outside.

Firefighters rescued 15 people by ladders and guided more than 200 out of the smoke filled area, and fifty families were made homeless in the fire.  15 fire engines were involved in the incident. Four other firefighters were treated for injuries, including one who fell 30 feet.

The Red Plaque Scheme is fully funded by proceeds from the weekly Firefighters 100 Lottery which has been able to create several plaques each year since it began in 2017. Over time, as supporters of the Lottery continues to grow, more Red Plaques can be placed at the heart of communities affected by firefighter fatalities.

The scheme involves engaging local FBU members, family members or members of the community to work with the union to place a unique plaque, usually near the scene of the incident. Each plaque bears a similar inscription which honours the bravery and sacrifice of the firefighter whose name appears on the plaque.

PICTURES: FBU/Craig Maclean

Plaque unveiled for Scottish firefighter who died in the line of duty

A plaque has been unveiled for a Scottish firefighter who died in the line of duty, on the 44th anniversary of his death.

On 29th October 1978 Firefighter Alexander (Sandy) Drummond of Inveraray Fire Station lost his life fighting a fire which badly damaged the Crinan Hotel in Argyll.

As well as serving as a firefighter Mr Drummond was a former town and county councillor and magistrate, being described as a “noted member of the community” in The Oban Times at the time of his death.

The unveiling ceremony was held on Saturday the 29th of October 2022 at Inverary Fire Station, where the plaque is now situated.  

The plaque is a Red Plaque. The Red Plaque Scheme is a Fire Brigades Union initiative to commemorate firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The ceremony included speeches from FBU senior officials and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service senior officers, with an FBU piper and SFRS Heritage group vehicles also in attendance.

FBU Regional Treasurer, Seona Hart, said: “Since 2017, the Red Plaque Scheme has created memorials for firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty, with each Red Plaque commemorating a moment in local history and offering a place of reflection for the community.

“Each Red Plaque is funded by the Firefighters 100 Lottery, a charitable initiative run by the Fire Brigades Union. Since the commencement of this scheme, Red Plaques remembering over fifty firefighters have been presented across the UK, with each plaque unveiled at a ceremony attended by serving firefighters, FBU representatives, community members, fire chiefs and the family, friends and former colleagues of fallen firefighters”

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “It is vital we remember firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“Firefighters will always fight to make sure that happens. Every day firefighters go to work not knowing if they will come home or not. The tremendous bravery and sacrifice of those who lose their lives in the line of duty should always be commemorated and red plaques help make sure that that is the case.”

The Red Plaque scheme is one of a number of projects funded by the FBU’s Firefighter 100 lottery. The money raised by the lottery is supplemented by money from the FBU itself. The Firefighter 100 lottery can be entered by anyone who wishes to help by using www.firefighters100lottery.co.uk.

The Red Plaque scheme

The Red Plaque scheme was set up during the Fire Brigade Union’s centenary with the aim of establishing memorials to firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

The scheme involves engaging local FBU members, family members or members of the community to work with the union to place a unique plaque. Each plaque bears a similar inscription which honours the bravery and sacrifice of the firefighter whose name appears on the plaque.