FIREFIGHTERS past, present and future celebrated Wallingford Fire Station’s 90th birthday.

Former firemen at the Station Road centre reminisced while their grandchildren climbed aboard a 1974 Bedford fire truck.

Hundreds of people visited from 9am to 1pm on Saturday and raised about £1,000 for the Fire Fighters’ Charity and Cancer Research UK.

Oxford Mail:

Nick Preece

Nick Preece, 71, a retained fire fighter at Wallingford from 1971 to 1979, came back for the day from his new home in Northampton with wife Kathleen.

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He said: “It was good to be back. All the lads I was speaking to, I worked with their fathers.

“The highlight of my time there was the comradeship. We were one big family, and that is still there. I think a good time was had by all.”

The open day at the station was followed by a tug-o-war in the Kinecroft and a concert at the Cross Keys to raise more money for the charities.

Watch manager Dan Reed said: “It was a good day, the weather was nice and we had a good few hundred people.

“There have been a lot of changes over the past 90 years.

“There is a lot more health and safety these days and thankfully a lot fewer fires happen. We don’t wear plastic trousers any more.”


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