THE eye-catching headline would be that on March 4, 1957 the first bikini in The Midlands made an appearance on the banks of the Severn at Worcester.

However those looking for a two-piece bathing costume as seen on the beaches and yachts of St Tropez would be sadly disappointed. Because this bikini had a capital “B” and was actually a water-borne fire fighting unit.

Technically known as “a transportable water unit”, the Bikini measured 15ft by 6.5ft and was an inflatable raft carrying three pumps, each capable of delivering 1,000 gallons of water a minute. The Bikini was transported on a lorry and lowered by crane into the water.

It had a two-man crew and its aim was to supply water at locations inaccessible to conventional fire appliances, such as steep river banks or soft ground. Worcester City and County chief fire officer Gerald Eastham said this was the first Bikini in service in the Midlands and local firefighters travelled to a centre in Reigate, Surrey, to learn how to operate it.

What became of the Bikini has probably been lost in the mists of the last 60 years, but looking back over them here are some snapshots of the lives and times of the county’s firefighters.

One of the saddest was on a March day in 1974, when the centre of Worcester came to a standstill as a civic funeral service was held in the cathedral for two firefighters who were killed tackling a blaze at a furniture store in Kidderminster.

The history of 43-49 St John's

A build-up of toxic and highly inflammable gasses caused a massive flash-over which claimed the lives of Sub Officer Robert Crampkin, of Kidderminster, and Fireman Keith Marshall, of, Worcester, the first officers to be killed in the 25-year history of the brigade. Extra seating had to be installed inside the cathedral to cope with the large number of mourners, who included 350 members of brigades from across the UK.

The 1970s was peppered by trades union strikes and when the firefighters withdrew their labour, the Government mobilised parts of the military using Green Goddess appliances, vehicles originally made in the 1950s for the Auxiliary Fire Service.

In November of that year, Goddess crews from Worcester and Droitwich faced the unenviable task of a blaze at a petrol station on the outskirts of Droitwich, made more difficult because they apparently had little, if any, breathing equipment. Nevertheless the troops got stuck in and extinguished the blaze, which had been started deliberately.

In October, 1979, the heart of Worcester was again brought to a halt when the High Street store of FW Woolworth (now part of Marks and Spencer) caught fire. Crowds watched as firefighters climbed ladders set against the side of the building and toxic fumes billowed out of the building.

It was an era when the city centre suffered several major fires, others included those at saucemakers Lea and Perrins in Midland Road and ironmongers JC Baker in Foregate Street, where portable gas canisters turned into exploding bombs, providing an extra hazard.