A fire station burning down is pretty much a perfect encapsulation of the meaning of irony. In the summer of 2008, that scenario nearly came to pass in Aberdeen. The Red Watch team of fire fighters at the city's Central Fire Station were getting ready for a traditional Sunday roast when they received a 999 call. As usual, they wasted no time getting into the fire engine and setting off. Unfortunately, they forgot to turn the electricity off, and left an oiled pan (which was going to be used to cook the Yorkshire puddings) on a hot plate.
Another layer of irony was added when it turned out the emergency call was a false alarm caused by a defective smoke detector. Upon their return to the fire station, they were confronted by small fire burning in the kitchen. The extractor fan had been left on and had sucked up the majority of the smoke, thus stopping the detector from going off.
Rumour has it that the crew had to get headquarters to send out another fire engine to help them deal with the blaze, but this was contradicted the Grampian Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman, who described the incident as "very small", adding that no damage was done. In the wake of the incident, the crew were nicknamed Red-faced Watch.
During the week, canteen staff cook meals for the fire crews, but they have to make their own arrangements at weekend. Some people take in their own food, but others put together to make a traditional sit-down meal. The normal procedure is to turn the electricity off before going on any call-outs, but a rare lapse meant that didn't happen in this instance.
Aberdeen Central Fire Station made the news earlier the same year when long-serving fireman Kevin Ogilvie was sacked for being overweight. In another ironic twist, he received a long service award shortly after being fired.
Another layer of irony was added when it turned out the emergency call was a false alarm caused by a defective smoke detector. Upon their return to the fire station, they were confronted by small fire burning in the kitchen. The extractor fan had been left on and had sucked up the majority of the smoke, thus stopping the detector from going off.
Rumour has it that the crew had to get headquarters to send out another fire engine to help them deal with the blaze, but this was contradicted the Grampian Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman, who described the incident as "very small", adding that no damage was done. In the wake of the incident, the crew were nicknamed Red-faced Watch.
During the week, canteen staff cook meals for the fire crews, but they have to make their own arrangements at weekend. Some people take in their own food, but others put together to make a traditional sit-down meal. The normal procedure is to turn the electricity off before going on any call-outs, but a rare lapse meant that didn't happen in this instance.
Aberdeen Central Fire Station made the news earlier the same year when long-serving fireman Kevin Ogilvie was sacked for being overweight. In another ironic twist, he received a long service award shortly after being fired.
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