RETIRED firefighter Bill Law vividly remembers the day a thatched cottage caught alight.

Peacock Cottage at Westcot, near Wantage, was severely damaged, but heroic efforts by Mr Law and his fellow crew members prevented the fire spreading.

Miraculously, Elderbury Cottage next door was undamaged – and there was a gap of just two feet between the buildings!

Mr Law was reminded of the 1997 incident when he read about the 40th anniversary celebrations of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (Oxford Mail, July 5).

He writes: “Thatched roof fires are very difficult to deal with as the fire eats into the thatch and burns from underneath.

“Thatch naturally runs water off, so pouring on thousands of gallons of water doesn’t deal with the fire.”

Firefighters had to use all their ingenuity to minimise damage at the scene of the Westcot fire.

A neighbour, Wilma Leroy, had been sitting chatting to two friends when they saw smoke drifting by. They thought at first it was someone having a barbecue.

When they realised Peacock Cottage was on fire, they dialled 999 and trained a garden hose on the blazing home.

Strong winds whipped up the flames and the roof was well alight when the first of 40 firemen arrived. The couple living in Peacock Cottage escaped unhurt.

Station Office Trevor Fox said afterwards: “Our main aim was to save the cottage next door and for 15 minutes, it was touch and go whether we could.”

Mr Law is full of praise for the officers and staff who brought together three brigades to create Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service in 1974.

Before then, Oxford and Oxfordshire had their own fire brigades, and the Abingdon, Wantage and Didcot areas were covered by the Berkshire and Reading brigade. Each brigade had its own chief fire officer.

Mr Law writes: “To lay the foundations for the success of the present service, officers and staff had to unite 17 fire stations in Oxfordshire, five in Berkshire and two in Oxford.”

Memory Lane this week

 

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