Rivalry is running through the fire station!

SOME of the Hollins firefighters running for charity (from the left) Mark Outhwaite, Mick Howe, Rick Taylor, Pete Crossley, Tony Morgan, Mike McKeogh, Andy Dorosz, Steve Madden, Stuart Brown, Liam Kelly and Andy Turner.

GOOD-NATURED rivalry at Hollins fire station is set to rake in hundreds of pounds for charity.

Twenty of the station’s 25 firefighters are busy training for the Chester Half Marathon which takes place on Sunday, May 15.

The money runners raise will be split between the Fire Fighters Charity and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Rick Taylor, watch commander at Hollins fire station, has a four-month old son, Daniel, who has cystic fibrosis, as does the child of a fellow firefighter.

He said that was the reason his colleagues were raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Rick explained: “We have been training for a couple of months already, and it’s getting competitive between individuals and watches. The whole station is getting fitter, and it has been really good for morale.” The event has sparked a huge turnout from the fire station, and the five who aren’t running will man the service on the day of the run. Runners range from their early 20s into their 50s, and they already have £400 in the kitty from collections in Oldham town centre.

They are appealing for people to sponsor them through www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/hollinsfirestation