Swindon firefighter reveals worst ever fire he faced in town

Mike Rose is a retained firefighter now working at London Oxford Airport, but he was previously stationed at Swindon Fire Station between 2011 and 2017.

He encounter several blazes during his six years in the town but was quick to highlight one particular case when speaking to the Adver.

“The worst I saw was when the Maddison Hotel opposite Toys R Us on Oxford Road went up in flames on July 27, 2016,” said Mike.

The blaze at the old Maddison Hotel in 2016

“Due to the huge size of it we needed nine pumps, two aerial appliances, two water carriers and an incident command vehicle.

“Luckily there were no casualties because it was a derelict building.”

The 37-year-old, who still lives in the town, also mentioned another case due to the sheer amount of time it took to extinguish the flames.

“The Averies tip fire near Greenbridge took over a month to deal with as there was so many raw materials and rubbish on fire,” said Mike.

The Averies tip fire took nearly two months to extinguish

“It started on July 21, 2014, and it burned for 57 days.”

Mike looks back on the job fondly but did admit that the traffic and roads in Swindon could frustrate the team at times.

“I had a few near misses driving the fire engine but I really enjoyed it but it was certainly stressful during rush hour traffic,” he said.

“The Magic Roundabout caused delays trying to get back into the station but people would often give way to us to get across but it was more extreme on the tighter streets in Old Town.

“It was so nice to be out there in the community though and helping out, knowing we were needed.”

Shaun Wells, Mike Rose and Jake Mays all work together at London Oxford Airport. (Image: Mike Rose)

Fast forward to the present and Mike is preparing to walk from the source of the River Thames outside Cirencester to Lechlade for The Fire Fighters Charity.

He will be partaking in the 25 mile walk with fellow airport firefighters Shaun Wells of Oxfordshire and Jake Mays of Gloucestershire.

“We are doing it in full kit so that will be fun but we are hoping the weather cools down a bit,” he said.

“The charity has helped me in the past and we had a random conversation with the lads and it went from there really.

The boys will be walking the route on Monday, July 17, and if you would like to donate to the cause, you can find the link to their JustGiving page here.