The first Firemaster of Strathclyde Fire Brigade

The first Firemaster of Strathclyde Fire Brigade

Born: January 2, 1928; Died: September 19, 2014.

When preparations were made 40 years ago to reorganise Scottish local government into Regions and Districts, one of the hardest tasks was faced by Jim Knowlton. On August 16, 1974 he was appointed Firemaster of Strathclyde Fire Brigade, with only nine months to create the largest UK fire service outside London.

Mr Knowlton was a surprise choice to integrate the firefighters and stations from five areas into one unit that would serve over two million people, almost half the population of Scotland. George Cooper, the "fireman's fire chief" who ran Glasgow Fire Service, was expected to be given the top job, not the more reserved Firemaster of the smaller South Western Area.

Mr Knowlton himself expected Mr Cooper to become Firemaster while he would be made deputy or an assistant Firemaster. He would later state: "After the initial shock and euphoria at obtaining the Firemaster's appointment, I soon realised the size of the task ahead."

The new service would inherit a variety of vehicles, some new and some very old, and an equally varied complement of fire stations. It would serve communities across an area of over 5,200 square miles stretching from rural Argyll to industrial North Lanarkshire, the urban sprawl of the Glasgow conurbation and the towns and villages of Ayrshire.

Perhaps the greatest contrast lay between the urban communities where full-time firefighters operated state-of-the-art equipment housed in relatively modern fire stations, and remote mainland or island communities in Argyll where the local fire brigade was a handful of volunteers, the fire station was a shed to store a hose and stirrup pump and the "fire engine" was the local builder's pick-up.

To add to the new Firemaster's difficulties, industrial unrest was brewing. This would reach a climax in 1977 when a national firefighters' strike would lead to Army Green Goddess fire engines being taken out of mothballs to provide fire cover across Scotland.

Strathclyde Fire Brigade came into operation in May 1975. Very soon Mr Knowlton was introducing measures, such as a review of specialist equipment including turntable ladders, to reduce unevenness of fire and rescue cover. At a time of severe cuts across all council departments, Mr Knowlton had to take tough decisions: these included trimming back on planned service improvements and pensioning off the River Clyde fireboat St Mungo.

Mr Knowlton did, however, succeed in 1975 in persuading the Region's Police and Fire Committee to invest in new fire engines, including eight machines built at Irvine. He also selected Hamilton as the site of the headquarters. In subsequent years, as pursestrings were loosened, many new investments were made in the brigade, including the construction of fire stations at Cowcaddens, Govan and Springburn in Glasgow, and also at Muirkirk and Kilbirnie.

In 1977, Mr Knowlton was awarded the Queen's Fire Service Medal, and in 1983 he received the CBE. In September 1984, he stood down from Strathclyde to become Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services in Scotland. Looking back on his 10 years with Strathclyde, he said: "They have been the most eventful years of my life and although there have been times of frustration and great difficulty, there have also been many notable advances and examples for pride and satisfaction."

Mr Knowlton was from Hampshire. In 1947 he was called up for National Service and spent two years with 42 Commando of the Royal Marines, serving in Hong Kong and Malta.

He then joined Southampton Fire Brigade and worked his way through the ranks before moving to London Fire Brigade as an Assistant Divisional Officer in 1963. After several years as Divisional Commander of London's B Division (Clapham) he moved to Scotland in 1971 to run the South Western Fire Brigade, where he carried out a programme of reforms.

During his Fire Service career, Mr Knowlton was president of the Chief and Assistant Fire Officers' Association, chairman of the Fire Services Benevolent Fund and vice-president of the European Association of Professional Fire Brigade Officers.

He continued his public service into retirement as a volunteer for the National Trust for 19 years.

Mr Knowlton is survived by his wife Pamela, whom he married in 1949, and his son Richard.