April 20, 2011 2.07 pm This story is over 161 months old

Fire Station says goodbye to pole

Fireman’s Pole: The last pole in the county has been removed from a fire station in Lincoln.

The firefighters’ pole in Lincoln South fire station is the last pole in the county to be removed due to modernisation of fire stations.

Dave Hopkins, Station Manager at Lincoln South station, said: “This was the last firefighters’ pole in the county and it has been part of the station since it was built in 1964.

“It’s being removed now because the upstairs, which was once a dormitory for the firefighters, has been renovated into office space, so the pole drop is no longer needed.”

A “fireman’s pole” was a special feature of fire stations across the country, however now most stations in the county are now one storey so do not need one.

The pole and pole drop doors will be preserved at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue’s training site at Waddington.

Firefighters’ poles are thought to have been invented in Chicago in the 1870s, but are now rarely used in fire stations around the world.

Source: Lincolnshire County Council