Paddock Wood Fire brigade.

Whenever there is an emergency incident, we all depend on fully trained fire officers or emergency responders to attend and resolve the situation, wherever or whenever it takes place.  But it wasn’t always this way. 

Historically, firefighting was dealt with at a local level and sometimes fire pumps were paid for by an insurance company. If you weren’t insured by the company that owned the pump, your property could be left to burn!

The first Paddock Wood fire brigade was formed in December 1912. A hand cart and some firefighting equipment was bought through subscriptions from local property owners. 

Unfortunately, interest in the fire brigade gradually waned – the hand cart and equipment remained but there was no brigade left – the role was purely voluntary.

The Paddock Wood Volunteer Firemen reformed in 1929 and their equipment consisted of a handcart, some lengths of hose and a standpipe.  They wore second hand uniforms and brass helmets and met weekly to practice in the former cricket field (now Kent Close). These volunteers kept their uniforms smart and their equipment gleaming.  The original place where everything was stored was a hut at the top of the village where a handcart was kept at the ready. 

The brigade was called out by rocket or maroon which made a tremendous bang over the village.  A public subscription was set up for funding and it is believed that for every £25 obtained, Mr J Podmore of Moatlands gave an equal sum.  A second hand 1912 Dennis Motor Engine and solid tyred motor pump were purchased in 1935 which gave valuable service up to the second world war.

Fire engine AR5232 photographed with its crew ©

Firemen pictured with AR5232 outside the original Springetts Garage which became the well known Evernden Cycles on Maidstone Road ©

It was housed in Station Road on the ground near the steps.  The previous pump could only be used in parts of the village where fire hydrants were located.

In August 1933 the Parish Council entered into a contract with the fire brigade whereby they would contribute £18 10 shillings per year towards the running costs of the service.  They also agreed to pay the insurance of the firemen and rates and taxes on the Fire Station. To fund this and some new fire hydrants there was to be an increase in the rates of 1d per year.

In January 1939 the residents of Paddock Wood were very angry when it was discovered that it was proposed to abolish their voluntary fire brigade under the 1938 Fire Brigades Act in favour of a new centralised brigade located in Matfield.   The residents and businesses objections were supported by the Parish Council who pointed out how short sighted this would be considering the rising population and growing commercial development of Paddock Wood. Not to mention all the modernised equipment that had been acquired since 1930!  Mr Robert Hall said he would fight to the death to retain the station in Paddock Wood and mentioned the large fire risk in the village. 

However, in February 1939 it was announced that the Paddock Wood Fire Brigade was to be retained.  Because of the war the Fire Station was moved to a large warehouse on Maidstone Road with a siren on top of the roof. This is now the site of Apple Court.

After the war the appliances were brought up to date but the warehouse had to be returned to its owner, leaving the Brigade looking for another fire station. It was through the generosity of Halls that a site was given rent free next to their timber yard in Church Road.  It was situated in the corner near Le Temple Road.  At that time Halls had massive piles of wood stored as high as seven metres which had necessitated the firm having its own firemen who were very well equipped and trained.

In 1983 the fire station was transferred to a brand new headquarters built at Putlands Farm which was officially opened on 6th October 1983. But in 1995 the fire station was severely damaged by fire. People wondered if it was a hoax as fire engines were being called to a fire station!  Fortunately for Paddock Wood it was rebuilt in the following year, 1996.

The brigade was part of Kent County Council from April 1948 to 1998, when it became part of  the stand-alone combined fire authority for Kent and Medway which became the Kent Fire and Rescue Service in 2003.

The original Paddock Wood motorised fire engine (Dennis Turbine Fire Engine, AR5232) was bought in 1978 for £3750 from Arnolds (Branbridges) ltd by Michael Benham complete with log book and photocopy of the 1913 instruction book. In June 2014, it was sold again at a Bonhams auction for £39,100 - still in working condition. It was due to the late Charlie Willard, a well known local resident with a keen interest in heritage that Heritage Paddock Wood found out about the sale. Sadly Heritage Paddock Wood could not afford to buy it!

As previous picture acknowledged this is not strictly HPW copyright. Taken from sales particulars by the late Charlie Willard

With reference to Arnolds of East Peckham mentioned in the paper above. It was a Benz based Arnold Motor carriage that was responsible for the first speeding fine in the country.