The level of protection for homes and property on Coll from the potentially devastating effects of fire was substantially improved by the complete re-vamping of the Arinagour volunteer fire fighting unit.

The wee wooden shed with its limited contents has blossomed (? mushroomed?? ) into a large fire station complete with a well-equipped fire fighting appliance. More volunteers have been recruited, bringing the total to nine under the leadership of Kevin Oliphant with John Fraser as deputy. This extra provision of manpower, appliance, pumps, ladders and associated machinery means that in the event of a fire we have a much increased capability to contain the danger and preserve life and property.

Although the Coll volunteer fire-fighter will deal with many less call outs than their mainland counterparts, the technical expertise and personal safety of the volunteers is being greatly increased by regular training and, criti cally, by the provision of breathing apparatus (B.A.). Wearing BA. enables vol unteers to enter burning buildings if someone is trapped inside. It also means the risks to the volunteers are much greater, hence the increased levels of training.

Having experienced the fear and disorientation of being trapped in the top flat of a burning Edinburgh tenement (people died, the building was burnt out, but the professionalism and bravery of the fire-fighters was inspirational), I approached our first BA. training session with some trepidation. Wearing thick and heavy protective clothing, gloves, helmet, breathing through a face mask and weighed down with bulky air bottles is claustrophobic enough. Imagine then, being locked into a totally blacked-out room, pumped full of heat and smoke. The room was laid out like a three-dimensional maze and we had to search for casualties, roped together in pairs. You could see nothing, feeling was restricted by the thick gloves, hearing was minimal, only the gasping of the face masks, and always the heat building up, the maze getting smaller and tighter, the air bottles jamming, squirming on your belly terrified to dislodge the face mask, concentrating on holding down the panic, and feeling everywhere for casualties.

Training is frightening enough, I hope we never have to do it for real. Check your smoke alarms are working, make sure you have a fire extinguisher and fire blanket, and always be careful.