A Fire Brigade of ten men was formed in Dunblane in January 1902. The joiner, Mr Robert Cairns, was their Captain. Their first call out to a fire was in April 1902. A house opposite the Railway Station was on fire, and the Brigade successfully extinguished the roof fire. At this time the Brigade had no fire engine. The Burgh Council minutes (DU/1/1/5) reveal that Bailie Murray had raised concerns about there not being sufficient pressure to use fire hoses effectively in the higher parts of Dunblane. It was suggested that they seek subscriptions to fund a fire engine.
Stirling Council Archives’ collections include building plans approved by the Dean of Guild Court. Amongst these are plans for the new fire station in Dunblane, designed by the County Architect, Ian A. Moodie, in 1952. From the plans, we can see that a new roadway is to be built to serve the fire station. This is now Anderson Street. We can also see from the location plan that although Atholl Place existed at this time, it was yet to be extended to accommodate the building of more houses.
As noted on the plans, the elevations were reversed to have the fire engines situated on the right hand side of the building rather than the left. On the other side of the building are a muster room, watch room and lecture room.
There is only one set of showers and toilets in the building. In the 1950s there would have been no requirement to provide separate facilities for male and females. It wasn’t until the 1980s that Fire Brigades starting accepting female firefighters.
The new fire station was opened in April 1954 by Sir John Ure Primrose, Lord Provost of Perth. The Stirling Journal reports:
“The magnificent new fire station is situated at Well Place, and is completely modern in every aspect…. There were about six part-time firemen to every full-time member of the service, and he wanted to take the opportunity of thanking these part-time firemen for the great work they had done in their area.”
