Tamworth funeral manager raises £10,000

A Tamworth Co-operative Society funeral manager has taken part in a charity drive raising £10,000 for high-rise firefighting equipment.

Glen Speak, deputy manager of the Society’s funeral division, helped to organise the fundraising as senior steward of the Acacia Lodge in London. The money was raised through collections and raffles.

Metropolitan Grand Lodge, which oversees Freemasonry groups in the capital, started the fund to raise £2.5m for two 60-metre high lift platforms. The target has now been reached, enabling London Fire Brigade to buy the appliances. 

The specially built platforms will allow the fire service to access previously unreachable high buildings with stretchers, used by rescue teams to transport casualties, jets and other vital emergency aids.

Speak, who is soon to become the lodge’s charity steward, described it as one of the most worthwhile projects he has ever been involved in

He said: “The cause is hugely important as firefighters had been unable to reach people trapped on the upper floors of the block of flats because their hydraulic platforms couldn’t reach high enough.” 

“The lodge is the Freemasonry organisation for the funeral and embalming profession. Several members have attended major disasters such as the Kings Cross fire, as well as the Lockerbie and Kegworth air crashes. 

He added: “We are all very much aware of the terrible human cost of incidents like these and so we were pleased to raise such a large amount for this appeal, in addition to the other fundraising we do for national and local charities.”