The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free

York Fire Brigade
Looking like something out of Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451, York firemen impress the mass of onlookers with their skills of standing still whilst in motion and climbing ladders.
From the collection of:

Overview
A public display of what appears to be a routine, albeit extended, fire fighting drill, that certainly gets public attention as spectators crowd onto King’s Staith and Ouse Bridge in York to watch as dummies get rescued from five stories up the Terry’s warehouse. The river also gets a topping up as firemen display their prowess with a hose, while the police lend a helping hand to the injured.
It isn’t known who took this film, or when it was taken – presumably sometime in the early 1930s. A trolley bus can be seen in the film, and these were stopped in York in January 1935 – tramlines are also seen, and trams stopped in November 1935. Until the Fire Brigades Act of1938 there were some 1,500 small municipal fire brigades run by local councils in the UK, but the act amalgamated many within county boroughs and districts. The Auxiliary Fire Service was formed the same year. It is intriguing to speculate what could have prompted this training exercise and the public interest it garnered, with the threat of war still some way off. Perhaps this counted as entertainment at the time.
Related

This Is York This Is York
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.

Alarm Call Alarm Call
Advert 1955 2 mins Location: York
A drink for all occasions, but especially to relieve the stress of those brave souls battling fires, floods and well-behaved children.

Kit Kat: Meccano Kit Kat: Meccano
1969 0 mins Location: York
Any boy struggling to construct Meccano will deserve a chocolate break, though perhaps this won’t be as satisfying as completing the Meccano.

Rowntrees Aero: Train Rowntrees Aero: Train
Advert 1980 1 mins Location: York
The bar with unique bubbly texture, using a secret bubbly formula, giving rise to the bubbly banter of bubbly flirting.

Dairy Box: Skiffle Cellar Dairy Box: Skiffle Cellar
Advert 1958 1 mins Location: York
Out goes the romantic gesture and in comes the hip as Una Stubbs and her fellow cats break open the chocolates in a groovy scene in a groovy club.

Black Magic: Taxi Black Magic: Taxi
1964 1 mins Location: York
Chocolates and wealth, chocolates and taste, chocolates and elegance, chocolates and romance: the lifestyle of chocolates.

Afrika Bambaataa on Afrofuturism (Q&A) Afrika Bambaataa on Afrofuturism (Q&A)
Inside Film 2014 45 mins
Afrika Bambaataa and DJ, musician and filmmaker Don Letts discuss the development of Afrofuturism and its key artists.

Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.

Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.

Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.

Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.

Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.