Firefighters scrub up nicely for charity over the weekend

Firefighters got their sponges and hose reels out this weekend to raise over £1,500 for the national Fire Fighters Charity.

St Ives, Huntingdon and Ely Stations, all part of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, spent several hours cleaning muddy cars, 4x4s – even a Mustang GT Convertible and Aston Martin.

Watch Commander Phil Thacker, from St Ives Fire Station, said: “We had lots of cars; a muddy Land Rover, even a Mustang GT Convertible and an Aston Martin - but we were a bit nervous cleaning those so we put the brushes down for those two and just used sponges.”

WC Thacker said the on-call firefighters raised around £400 for The Fire Fighters Charity, adding: “We were constant all day. A lot of members of the public came down to support us and the crews really pulled together to make the whole thing a success.”

The event, held at the fire station on Ramsey Road, was part of The Fire Fighters Charity National Car Wash. Jon Niesh, the regional co-ordinator for the Easter Region of the charity, was there on the day along with the firefighters and one of our Community Champions.

Liam Mountford, an on-call firefighter based at Ely, organised the station’s car wash, where crews washed around 40 cars and several muddy 4x4s and again, raised just over £400.

“We had a steady number of cars coming all day so a big thank you to the public for being so generous with their donations,” he said.

Huntingdon’s firefighters saw a steady stream of cars go through their station, raising just over £800, bringing the total raised by the three stations all together to just over £1,600.

Firefighter Leon Collins, who organised the car wash, said: “It went fantastically well. Last year we raised about £400 and I think part of the reason we did so well this year was because the event was on the local radio every day for a week beforehand.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who came to help on the day because these things don’t work unless you get volunteers. We had the duty watch there, black watch and some of the girls from our control room. The public were brilliant too because everybody that came along gave massive donations and it all helps at the end of the day.

“There were still people towards the end of the day even when it was spitting with rain and the cars were getting dirty again as soon as they’d been cleaned.”

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has 24 stations across the county that are on-call and we are always looking for new recruits. If you are interested in becoming an on-call firefighter please visit our website at: www.cambsfire.gov.uk