Buckie firefighters scorch Christmas charity fundraising record
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BUCKIE's retained firefighters have smashed their Christmas street collection record.
The team were out and about before Christmas on the streets of Buckie, Findochty and Portgordon, as well as three stints at the local Tesco.
Despite many pressures on household budgets, the public rallied behind the firefighters' charity efforts in style, helping them raise a total of £8060.
This easily beats the previous record of £7374.68 set in Christmas 2021.
Joining the retained firefighters and their festively decorated fire appliance on their rounds – which included battling through blizzard conditions on one particular evening – was none other than Santa himself.
One of those delighted was Buckie fire station Watch Commander Colin Forbes.
He said: "The Christmas street collection went really well and we're all delighted to have broken our record by so much.
"People were so generous and we're really grateful. We're also grateful to Buckie Tesco for allowing us to collect there over three days.
"We had a tremendous amount of support, especially given the cost of living crisis and the rises in energy costs. It's absolutely excellent to get this amount and it says a lot for the community spirit locally.
"For the first time in a few years we had a callout during one of our collection evenings so we had to cancel the Findochty run but we did it another evening before Christmas."
As usual, half the sum raised will be donated to the Firefighters' Charity, with the rest earmarked for local charities and good causes.
Mr Forbes added: "We're keen to hear from any local groups who could benefit from the money we've raised.
"They can get in touch with us through the fire station's Facebook page or by sending a letter to the station."
The fire station's address is: East Cathcart Street, Buckie, AB56 1PJ.
The Firefighters’ Charity provides confidential, personalised support to the whole of the fire services community, delivering mental health, physical health and social wellbeing services at their centres, remotely, online and in communities around the UK.
For more information on the work of the charity, visit their website at https://www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/
