Quick Contacts
Crime Updates
Crime updates for May
See the latest updates on crime incidents affecting Wickhambrook and the surrounding areas...
Wanted/For Sale
Latest items for Sale - Treadmill and Buggy and a kitten. Also FREE Piano.
Take a look at all the items we have for sale and see if you can find yourself a bargain. You can also post requests for items you are looking for. It's free and we have sold lots of items over the years from cars to sofas!
Resources
PDF Files
You will need the Adobe Reader to view some documents on the website. You can download it for FREE from the Adobe Website
I'm Philippa Taylor and I'm BBC Radio Suffolk's West Suffolk producer. It's my job to search out stories that will be of interest to the county - so if there's an issue that's got you talking in Wickhambrook - then contact me. You can email me - philippa.taylor@bbc.co.uk - or ring me on 01359 271865.
Did you know that each day we broadcast a What's On diary for charity and community events too? Just give us ten days notice in writing - with contact details and useful information like wheelchair accessibility - and your event will be advertised free of charge. Phone our receptionists on 01473 250000 if you'd like to know more or check out our Suffolk website.
website last updated 10 January, 2010
Wickhambrook Firestation
Wickhambrook Fire Station is crewed by 'Retained Firefighters”. Our retained firefighters are members of the local community, who have been trained as firefighters, but have full time jobs and work within a short distance of the fire station. There is a huge shortage of retained firefighters nation-wide. Have you ever considered a career as a retained firefighter? We have vacancies at the station for people who can provide cover Monday to Friday during the day. Please find out more about us and how we look after the safety of the community.
If you would like more information about Wickhambrook Firestation, organising an event you would like us to attend or are interested in joining the Fire Service either at Wickhambrook or elsewhere, then we would be pleased to hear from you.
Contact Information
The Station Officer would be pleased to hear from you if you are interested in becoming a member of the Fire Service or wish to contact us.
Please do not use the numbers below for emergencies.
| Station Officer | |
|---|---|
| Paul Jolland | 01440 820254 |
| Assistant Divisional Officer | |
| Ali Moseley | 01473 588888 |
Firestation Location : CB8 8PF
View Wickhambrook Firestation in a larger map
Wickhambrook News and Events
Family Fun Evening
Friday 25th May 2012
5-8pm Wickhambrook Primary School. Everybody welcome - Come and enjoy an evening of fun and entertainment - attractions include Archery, Zorbing, Bouncy Castle, Face Painting, BBQ and Cream Teas, Craft Stalls, Grand Raffle and loads more (see poster)
Hidden Gardens of Bury St Edmunds
17th June 2012
Gardens in the Historic Town Centre of Bury St Edmunds. 11am to 5pm. Admission by programme available in advance on Tourist Information Centre and on the day from 10.30am on The Angel Hill. In support of St Nicholas Hospice. View the poster
Jubilee Events at The Greyhound
Great events at The Greyhound on every day of the Jubilee holiday from Thursday 31st May to Monday 4th June - take a look at our flyer or the visit The Greyhound website for more information
Wickhambrook Flower Show and Events
14 July 2011 - starts 2pm
Come along to the annual Wickhambrook Flower Show at the MSC Hall with wonderful teas and cakes at the W.I. Hall, a display by the History Society and Car Boot Sale on the Recreation field (car boot starts 1pm).
Street Lights
The County Council owned Street Lights in Wickhambrook are due to switch to part-night lighting during the week commencing 7th May. A considerable amount of information is on the Suffolk County Council website at www.suffolk.gov.uk/streetlighting.
Road Closures
B1063 Bunters End, Wickhambrook - Outside Boyden House for approximately 110 metres
Reason for closure
BT Underground Works
Date of closure - 06/06/2012 to 08/06/2012 (09:30 to 15:30 hours)
Alternative routes - B1063 Shop Hill, A143 Bury Road, B1061 Thurlow Road, B1061 Bradley Road, B1061 Brinkley Road, B1061 Dullingham Road, A1304 High Street, B1063 Cheveley Road, B1063 Ashley Road (see plan)
Photo of the Month - May
FIND US AGAIN
Use the Bookmark and Share tool below so you can find our website again easily
About our Firestation
What is a Retained Firefighter?
Retained firefighters are members of the local community, who have been trained as firefighters, but have full time jobs; they could be builders, decorators, vehicle technicians, ambulance paramedics, prison officers, farm workers, carpenters, office workers, factory workers etc and live and work within a short distance of the fire station. In a nutshell, subject to being physically fit anyone can be a Retained Firefighter
Do we get paid?
Retained firefighters get a monthly salary which is the retainer fee, we get paid for the weekly training sessions and also for the calls that we attend.
Part Time?
Retained firefighters are sometimes referred to as 'part time', but they are in fact 'on call' 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. We do not exist to back up full time firefighters; we are the front line professional firefighters, responding to any incident in our area, saving lives, property and protecting the environment.
How do we get called out?
We carry personal pagers which alert us to a call, When a 999 call is received, fire control at Ipswich Fire HQ operates our pagers, and we drop what we are doing to respond to the fire station. Once we are alerted the Fire Appliance is on the road and making its way to the incident within 5-6 minutes of the 999 call.
What we do
The Fire and Rescue Service gets called to a number of emergencies and these include, Fires in properties, farms and business premises, Fires in vehicles and farming equipment, Chimney fires, Road Traffic Accidents, persons trapped in machinery, calls resulting from adverse weather conditions, Chemical Spillages, Humanitarian assistance and Liaising with other emergency services.
Training and Fitness
We attend a 2 hour training session each week, sometimes this extends to 3 hours and are normally called upon 5 times a week for emergency calls. You need to be physically fit, and have good eyesight in both eyes. There is a huge shortage of retained firefighters nation-wide. Have you ever considered a career as a retained firefighter? We have vacancies at the station for people who can provide cover mon-fri during the day.
For information on recruitment visit the Suffolk Fire and Rescue website.
The History of Wickhambrook Firestation
It could be said that Wickhambrook owes its fire Service to Adolph Hitler! As before 1939 there was no fire fighting unit in the village. The Officer responsible for the organisation at that time was Don Thompson, Captain of R.D.C. Fire Brigade and under his direction an Auxiliary Fire Service Unit was formed, based at Clopton Hall comprising mainly of personnel employed by Justin Brooke Ltd. This unit served through the war years and progressed to the National Fire Service and from converted milk van to NFS personnel tender and trailer pump. On the 1st April 1948 it passed to the control of the Suffolk and Ipswich fire Authority, and became a retained station in B Division with Headquarters at Bury St Edmunds.
Modernisation was gradual and in the 1950’s the station was supplied with its first water tender, a Dodge with front mounted pump carrying 400 gallons of water for initial use at incidents. An appliance bay had been constructed in a farm building, and a nearby small office equipped as a watch-room. Call out was still by telephone, call bells installed in members homes, a day siren operated from Headquarters was the next improvement, also a running call facility which meant the Brigade could be alerted by a member of the public. These measures however were still very much of the ad hoc nature, and much more ambitious plans were being prepared. A plot of land nearby at Clopton Hall was acquired and in 1966/67 building of a new modern fire station began, completed in 1967.
The new station and all the then latest improvements: an appliance room, kitchen and utility room, a drill yard and a tubular steel drill tower. At last Wickhambrook had a new and well equipped station and a modern fire engine. The new station was officially opened on 1st July 1967 by Mrs Edith Brooke of Clopton Hall who recalled that in the early days of the 1939/45 war she had been the telephone girl. The ceremony was attended by various dignitaries, including the Vice Chairman of the Suffolk and Ipswich Fire Authority and the Chief Fire Officer who presented Mrs Brooke with a plaque bearing the badge and Coat of Arms of the Fire Service. The station was open for the rest of the day for viewing by the general public. The combination of a modern station and up-dated appliance was a great boost to the personnel and as radio and two sets of breathing apparatus had been installed, the capabilities of the station had been much enhanced. The upgrading however was not finished, if in the Fire Service it ever is. In 1973/74 the system of calling by siren and call bells was phased out. In its place the Multitone system was installed, relying on radio and personal pocket alerter. As time went on this was improved, by now the station has the Phillips PAX system so that the first fireman to arrive answering a call has a printout from the watch room printer giving the type of emergency, location, map reference and any other relevant details. The station now has a modern fire appliance, fully equipped to deal with all kinds of incidents, fires, road accidents, rescue, both human and animal, first aid, with portable resuscitation sets, and many other essential tools.
All this is operated and maintained by a small band of retained fire fighters who leave their homes or places of employment to answer the call day or night, besides the obligatory two hours drill and training per week. Wickhambrook is certainly fortunate to have this kind of service in the village.
Plucking two incidents out of hundreds attended in its history we find the disastrous floods of September 1968, 3.5 inches of rain in 24 hours and the fire appliance engaged for 26 hours, and more recently the disastrous fire at Badmondisfield in 1995, when so much of the historic mansion was saved by the efforts of fire fighters over two days.
An outstanding feature in the history of the station is the fact that the late Sidney Bishop was officer in charge of the Station from its inception until his retirement in 1970, a remarkable record!