A plaque has been unveiled in memory of a firefighter who died in the line of duty tackling a blaze at a hotel 44 years ago.
Alexander (Sandy) Drummond, a firefighter at Inveraray Fire Station, lost his life fighting the fire which badly damaged the Crinan Hotel in Argyll and Bute in October 1978.
A Fire Brigades Union (FBU) red plaque was unveiled at Inveraray Fire station on Saturday October 29, the 44th anniversary of the blaze.
The Red Plaque Scheme, which has been running since 2017, is an FBU initiative to commemorate firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Unveiling the Red Plaque at Inveraray Fire Station today pic.twitter.com/LXGhqrAkgr
— Scottish Fire Brigades Heritage Trust (@SFRHTtweet) October 29, 2022
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “It is vital we remember firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Firefighters will always fight to make sure that happens.
“Every day firefighters go to work not knowing if they will come home or not.
“The tremendous bravery and sacrifice of those who lose their lives in the line of duty should always be commemorated and red plaques help make sure that that is the case.”
As well as serving as a firefighter, Mr Drummond was a former town and county councillor and magistrate, and was described as a “noted member of the community” in The Oban Times at the time of his death.
FBU regional treasurer Seona Hart, said: “Since 2017, the Red Plaque Scheme has created memorials for firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty, with each Red Plaque commemorating a moment in local history and offering a place of reflection for the community.
“Each Red Plaque is funded by the Firefighters 100 Lottery, a charitable initiative run by the Fire Brigades Union.
“Since the commencement of this scheme, Red Plaques remembering over fifty firefighters have been presented across the UK, with each plaque unveiled at a ceremony attended by serving firefighters, FBU representatives, community members, fire chiefs and the family, friends and former colleagues of fallen firefighters.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here