Secret fire station found untouched after 60 years in factory's basement

A secret 60-year-old fire station, complete with firefighting equipment and uniforms, has been discovered in the bowels of a factory in Dudley in the West Midlands.



Staff at shopfitting company The Alan Nuttall Partnership recently found the hidden fire base at the large factory, built in 1915, which has been the company’s home since 1986. The room contained perfectly preserved uniforms, with the names of the wearers chalked above them.





Hanging on one wall is a row of neatly rolled-up canvas hoses, along with a single gas mask. Documents suggest the items date back to the early 1950s, when the local Co-op, which had its own fire brigade, operated from the building. “This is such a large site that there are little corners that no-one goes into,” explains Matt Hornblower, Nuttall’s operations director.


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“But recently we came in and had a good look around, and we still keep finding things that we didn’t know were here. The most impressive piece in there is a pump trailer, powered by a petrol or diesel engine. Still bright red, with ‘CWS DUDLEY’ lettered in gold on the front, it looks as though all it needs is a bit of a wipe down. There’s still air in its tyres and just a few spots of oil on the floor beneath.”