Firefighters enjoy significant public respect, yet one extraordinary individual distinguished himself by tackling a major inferno with only a single leg at his disposal.
As he raced to the emergency, his artificial wooden limb separated from his person. Undeterred, he pressed forward with resolve and contributed alongside his teammates to subdue the flames.
The event occurred at Didcot railway station on March 31, 1886, just before 1pm, precisely 140 years before the current week. During that period, Didcot was merely a modest countryside community possessing no firefighting equipment whatsoever and lacking any piped water supply.
S Allen Warner documented the occurrence in writing, noting that the Harwell fire brigade arrived to reinforce the efforts of railway staff and local inhabitants, who were drawing water from wells at nearby hotels together with a water cart from Blagrave Farm in an effort to control the blaze.
The Harwell engine travelled on a horse-drawn vehicle, manned by a crew of roughly six to eight people.
One team member wore a wooden leg, and because it had not been adequately fastened, it became loose during the urgent passage across the uneven ground. Once the pumping apparatus was finally operational, its wearer could be spotted traversing on just one leg.
Units from Wallingford and Abingdon were sent to provide support. Members of the Oxford Volunteer Fire Brigade conveyed their fire engine and accompanying vehicle, christened Gamecock, to Oxford station, loaded them onto a wagon, and completed the remaining distance to Didcot by train.
The circumstances surrounding the conflagration—and the notable one-legged firefighter—were brought to attention by historian and former fire officer John Lowe, a resident of Kidlington.
An investigation later established that the fire began when an employee carrying an oil lamp positioned close to a fireplace in one of the station waiting rooms accidentally spilt some oil onto the flames.
According to Jackson’s Oxford Journal, the oil caught fire rapidly, and before he could respond, the blaze was already climbing the chimney. The chimney then ignited and spread upward into the telegraph office.
The alarm was raised after a bookstall worker and an inspector spotted an unusual quantity of smoke on the platform. Within minutes, the wooden ceiling had caught ablaze and fire consumed the entire structure.
The newspaper further reported that the stationmaster and inspectors acted promptly to marshal available personnel, though it soon became clear their efforts would be insufficient.
Meanwhile, a telegram had been sent to Oxford, and a substantial fire engine was transported along the railway tracks and deployed without delay.
The Harwell equipment arrived swiftly, soon followed by firefighting crews from Wallingford and Abingdon. Every resource was channelled toward the blazing structure.
It became apparent that the station offices could not be rescued, yet the firefighters, united in their objective, worked strenuously and succeeded in safeguarding valuable items.
Passengers with their luggage gathered in secure sections of the station. Goods trains were halted, though most passenger services continued via a different route.
The newspaper added that the fire raged unchecked until nightfall approached. The flames could be seen throughout the surrounding countryside.