Fire museum sets sights on old station

Fire Service Museum

Greater Manchester’s fire service museum, which faces the threat of closure at the end of 2011, is looking to relocate in the soon-to-be-vacated Rochdale fire station on Maclure Road.

The Museum, supported and part-funded by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, has been located in a former workshop block at the rear of the same site since 1983, but is now being told by the Service that it will not be joining them when they move into new premises in Hamer next year. Because the old site must be sold off as soon as possible, the Museum will potentially be homeless unless another site can be found quickly.

Museum Curator and Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Bob Bonner, is a retired fire officer who spent several years at Rochdale fire station.

“This situation is very serious for the Museum,” said Mr Bonner. “The fire station’s future has been in doubt since it became part of a conservation area a few years ago, but no firm decisions were taken, meaning we were unable to make any plans; now we have been informed that the museum building is to be sold off after all, we are left with a near-impossible timescale.”

Trustees are now in dialogue with the Service to try and resolve the issue, but at the moment no solution is in sight. The Trust, however, is in no doubt that the best idea would be to move the museum into the old fire station once the brigade has left. The 1933 building is of outstanding architectural quality, was a landmark project for the British fire service in its day and, at 115ft, has one of the tallest hose towers in the country:

“The answer is obvious,” said Mr Bonner; “with the construction of Metrolink on its doorstep, and big regeneration plans for the Maclure Road area, what better “gateway to Rochdale” could there be than to have a thriving museum in a beautiful building welcoming visitors to the town ?

“From our experience and knowledge of the fire museum sector, we know that all the best examples are located in heritage fire station buildings.

“Objects can be displayed in correct context, there is added value for visitors and people can see how the building was used. Rochdale fire station would make a beautiful museum. There would also be room for partner projects, such as cafes, shops or community space.”

“We are talking to potential partners right now.

“The Maclure Road fire station is on the top of our wish list; we must find a way to keep the Museum in Rochdale and, ideally, in this wonderful building.”