Fire station opens without the ghosts.
Perry Barr.
Perry Barr’s new fire station was officially opened on Tuesday – a builind which the firefighters hope will not plague them with as many supernatural experiences as the last one! The firemen have got a new £1.5 million station in College Road, on the same site they occupied before. From 1926 until recently they were in the old Witton Infectious Diseases Hospital, which was built in 1825 and was used to house the victims of cholera and smallpox. When they took over the site the firemen witnessed many strange an d inexplicable occurrences, most of which were dismissed as figments of imagination.
However it was harder for the firefighters to dismiss the mysterious objects and faces emerging from the walls of the recreation room, which was formerly part of the morgue.
Now the new station has been built at the site, the ghosts seemed to have faded away – apart from the strange case of the electronic doors of the new engine house which one day refused to close and after the engineers were called in were found to be tight shut.
Chief Fire Officer Graham Meldrum said: “Fortunately we have been able to conserve and adapt one of the original buildings which has enabled us to blend in with the area it serves.” The new station was officially opened by the Earl of Aylesford. Also present was the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Coun. Paul Tilsley.
Sutton Coldfield News, 24th September 1993.
Perry Barr’s new fire station opened this week in a blaze of glory, following a £1.5 million refurbishment scheme. The station based in College Road – formerly a Victorian hospital – was re-opened on Tuesday by the Right Honourable The Earl of Aylesford. And now the building, which has served firefighters for almost 70 years, has a complete new look. But the normally brave firemen are worried that ghosts from the old hospital – which have dogged them for years – will turn up at the new station.
In 1926 the Fire Brigade took over the infectious diseases hospital, which had been used to house victims of cholera and scarlet fever – rife before this century. Since that day firemen have observed strange and inexplicable occurrences which have left the hairs on the back of their neck standing on end. One watch member remembers seeing mysterious objects and faces emerging from the walls of the old recreation room, which was formerly part of the hospital’s morgue.
A fire service spokesman said: “Most of the incidents have been dismissed as figments of the imagination or coincidence. And since the old buildings have been pulled down and replaced, the supernatural activities has ceased.”
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Great Barr Observer, 24th September 1993.