HAVE-A-GO heroes on a tiny Scottish island allegedly tried to save a caravan that was engulfed in flames – by breaking into a fire station to get their hands on a fire engine.
A group of islanders are said to have taken matters into their own hands to battle the engulfed caravan on the island of Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides last month.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) volunteers were called out to tackle the blaze but the nearby residents thought they could sort out the problem faster.
The group, which included a former firefighter, are said to have smashed a window and forced a door at Colonsay’s fire station after one of the islanders forgot the code.
By the time the volunteer fire crew reached the blaze – less than 100 metres from their fire station – the caravan was well alight and ended up being burnt to the ground.
It was feared the fire would spread to a neighbouring house in the island’s main settlement Scalasaig village but thankfully the blaze was extinguished before it could.
Police Scotland were made aware of the fire but said they were not required to attend.
Speaking today, a source from the island, said: “I heard some of the guys who used to be in the fire brigade thought they would take the fire engine out and tackle the blaze themselves.
“It can take anything up to 25 minutes for a full crew of volunteer firefighters to get to the station along the island’s single track roads.
“The trouble seems to have been the folk that got there first, who were not current fire fighters, could not remember the code to get into the fire station and started trying to smash their way in.
“I suppose they were trying to do their best to help but having untrained people tackling a fire can’t be a good thing.”
A member of the team is said to have tried to squeeze through the window to get into the small fire station but he was too large to fit.
A spokesman for Police Scotland today said: “We were made aware of a fire next to the fire station the following day but there was no requirement for police to attend.”
Colonsay is an island in the Southern Hebrides with a full time population of about 130 people.
The island rarely experiences any serious crimes and locals say the last issue was the theft of £60 from a visiting construction worker at the home of an elderly man in 2006.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson today said: “We were alerted at 2.41pm on Tuesday, September 20 to reports of a caravan on fire on Colonsay.
“Operations Control mobilised two appliances and firefighters extinguished a fire affecting a caravan.
“There were no reported casualties and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe.”
