NO cause for alarm!

On the night of March 17, students at Bedstone College were surprised to see large numbers of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service vehicles, with full lights flashing, coming up the drive.

Surprised, because there had been no fire alarm!

Fortunately, all was well and there was no need for panic. The independent school near Bucknell in south Shropshire had agreed to allow the Fire and Rescue Service to conduct a large training exercise on the premises which entailed four tender crews working together to deal with a fictional emergency in the College cellars.

Bedstone College Headmaster, David Gajadharsingh, had to report the incident to the first crews on scene: “There is a fire in the boiler house and there is heavy smoke in the basement cellars. This is a social area used by the students. We have conducted a roll call and there are four students missing!”

During the exercise, incident commanders and observers ‘changed the rules’ every so often to mimic a real emergency to ensure that crews are properly trained to deal with all eventualities.

The exercise lasted for an hour and a half and afterwards the crews were treated to tea, coffee and cakes in the College conservatory.

David Gajadharsingh said: “As a school which has about 100 students living with us as boarders, we are very grateful to the professional and highly-trained Fire and Rescue personnel who attend the College at any hour of the day and night. Fortunately, the College has not had a major incident since the fire of 1996 but false alarms do occur and I am always amazed at the fact that the firefighters, the majority of whom are ‘retained’, arrive so quickly and ready for action. We are delighted to have helped out the Shropshire teams tonight and I would like to record my thanks to them for keeping us, and other residents of the county, safe and secure. It is a very difficult job that they do and they do it

incredibly well.”

Bedstone as a school has every reason to be grateful for the work of our local firefighters. As many long-term residents will remember, in July 1996 - thankfully during the school holidays - the ‘Great Fire of Bedstone’ almost destroyed the historic Victorian calendar house. A fire had started under the eaves of the timber building and quickly spread through the roof. Fire crews from three counties turned out, along with hundreds of villagers, and thanks to their efforts there were no injuries and much of the building, major pieces of furniture, archives and artefacts - including a magnificent

stained glass window - were saved. The school never shut and the house was completely rebuilt from the ashes within 18 months to the original specifications by master craftsmen from across the world. It is possibly even more splendid today than before the fire.

Bedstone College is both a day and boarding school for boys and girls aged four to 18. It has an open morning on May 14 and scholarships are available for local students. Please call 01547 530961 email admissions@bedstone.org or visit bedstone.org