From Hosepipes to Handbags - How Six Fire Hoses Became Fashion Accessories
- 14th Feb 2024
- Author: Elliott Langley - Marketing Administrator
This week we look at how 6 perfectly ordinary fire hoses avoided being sent to landfill, and were instead turned into beautiful fashion accessories which will both support a charity and reduce the amount of waste that we produce.
Recently we welcomed our friends from the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service who came to give our fire precautions a routine and thorough inspection. These visits are important because it allows the experts to give their feedback and suggestions about our evacuation plans, and whether anything can be improved upon.
As you can probably imagine, an incredible amount of planning had to go into designing our 42-meter-high Rocket Tower. It was vital that a clear and safe route out exists should something like a fire ever occur in the Tower. Our Operations, Building Services and Health and Safety teams constantly review and scrutinise our fire and safety procedures. This includes routine inspections, fire drills and ensuring safety equipment is fit for use.
The team knew that the Fire Services would need to access a water supply in the event of a real fire. To that end, 3 pairs of hoses were installed on each of the Rocket Tower's Decks. That way, they would be ready for use by the Fire Service in an emergency. And in the meantime, the hoses had each other for company. But 23 years and no serious emergencies later, the time came for our firehoses to move on to a new life.
When the topic of the hosepipes came up, the Fire Service explained that they were unlikely to ever use them. After 23 years of inactivity, it would actually be safer for them to use their own firefighting tools and water sources in the event of a fire, rather than ours which have never seen use. This left us with 6 hosepipes lacking a purpose.
Our teams all agreed that it didn’t make sense to keep the firehoses in place if they were unlikely to ever see use. Which led to that age-old question – what exactly does one do with 6 redundant firehoses? “I can normally find a use for just about anything,” Nikki from the Décor and Maintenance team said, “but these firehoses weren’t sparking any ideas. We’re all trying to be more sustainable, and I hate seeing things going to waste, so I reached out to a local zoo to see if we could donate the hosepipes to them.”
Nikki’s idea was for the zoo to use the hosepipes in gorilla and monkey enclosures for the primate inhabitants to swing around on and generally have a great time with. “They were really grateful,” said Nikki, “but they politely declined as the gorillas were quite fond of the swings they already had.”
Which is fair enough, as nobody wants to upset a gorilla. It seemed the hosepipes were destined to be thrown away, until Nikki came up with another bright idea. “I saw a social media post about a company called Elvis and Kresse who rescue materials that are going to waste and turn them into things like handbags. I couldn’t believe it; perfect timing!”
Elvis and Kreese specialise in rescuing firehoses and other raw materials heading for landfill and re-engineering them into lifestyle accessories. 50% of all their profits from rescued firehoses are donated to The Fire Fighters Charity, who support fire fighters both retired and still serving.
As a charity ourselves, this aligned perfectly with our own Ethos and Values. It also fit into our efforts to reduce the levels of waste we produce. “I reached out to Elvis and Kreese and asked if they would like to collect our old firehoses,” Nikki said. “They got back to me quickly and were keen to take them off our hands.”
Nikki packed up the firehoses and waved them off as they were collected and taken away to their new life as fashion superstars. The experts at Elvis and Kreese will take the materials from our hosepipes and turn them into one of their accessories, and they will go on to be sold through their website. Considering that it looked like they would end up being sent to landfill, we couldn’t be happier that our old hosepipes will find a new home in somebody’s wardrobe.
“It was tough to say goodbye after 23 years,” Nikki said, “but I know they’ll make a great handbag.”
