THE town's fire station reached a new milestone when the building celebrated its 50th anniversary.

To celebrate the occasion Mayor of Warrington Cllr Karen Mundry attended a ceremony at the station on Wednesday where she revealed a new commemorative plaque.

The Winwick Road station was originally opened on July 17, 1968 by the former Mayor of Warrington Cllr David W Pickering.

At the time of opening, the state of the art building housed fire engines, a turntable ladder, a comprehensive training area and even a nuclear fallout shelter.

Since then the building has changed considerably, constantly evolving to meet the ever changing requirements of the fire service.

The station is currently home to two fire engines, the water rescue unit and 36 firefighters, who work over four watches, protecting the people of Warrington 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Micky Hichen, from Burtonwood, joined the fire service at 18 with the Royal Air Force.

The 49-year-old has been based at the fire station for 12 years.

He said: "I always wanted a job where I was helping people rather than being sat at a desk, I applied to all 42 brigades when I left the air force.

"Ultimately the reason we do the job is to help the community and assist people when they are in distress.

"You can almost see their face change when we turn up at a scene.

"I've done everything from giving CPR to a cat to some of the most obscure situations – it is fire and rescue so we attend car crashes, water work and people stuck at height."

Micky added: "We spend a lot of our time educating the community now, whether that's going into schools or with residents.

"It is a really worthwhile occupation and you can have a long career in it if you want to but you have to remember to take the good with the bad."

Warrington station manager Neil Winstanley said: “Looking back it’s amazing to see how much the fire and rescue service has changed over the past 50 years and, while the appliances and firefighters have changed, it’s good to see that the building is still being put to good use.

“The building is not just a fire station; it’s a real community hub, housing the Phoenix Fire Amateur Boxing Club and Warrington Fire Cadets along with many other community groups. We also hold our annual open day here each year, which is always well attended.”

Assistant chief fire officer Gus O’Rouke said: "Technology may have moved on since 1978 and we now have a far greater focus on preventing fires, but our purpose remains as clear today as it was for our forebears 50 years ago. We're here to protect life and property.

"It's therefore with a huge sense of pride that we mark the 50th anniversary of Warrington Fire Station and would encourage people to come to our free annual open day on Sunday, September 2 to learn more about the fascinating work we do to keep people safe."