Category: Fire

Hello Guides : How To Be a Firefighter Part 2

At the request of some our readers. I went hunting for stories of how people became firefighters to see if they had any useful advice or tips for people who wanted to go into the emergency services. I went to have a chat to some working firefighters at Southwark Fire Station in London. This first

Hello, Guides: How to be a Firefighter Part 1

All photos by Eleanor Whalley Firefighters are cool. There’s no denying it. They save people’s lives and get to drive around in  huge trucks that make loud noises. Whether you are young or old, there are things in that kind of life that are inherently cool. The comedian  Dara O’Briain puts it perfectly in one of

The London Safety Plan

The Draft London Safety Plan is a plan (unsurprisingly) or perhaps more accurately a potential schedule of how the fire service could be ran and organised in the next few years. I came across this consultation on line looking for discussion and suggestions over what the final plan might include.  This consultation is part of

Volunteer Fire-Fighters

In a week of tragedies across the U.S.A, one man talks about the bravery of the volunteer firefighters who have helped so many people’s lives. Any interesting piece in The Guardian- it’s a worth a read. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/18/volunteer-firefighter-texas-boston   

Recruitment and Saving the Clipper

Through an FOI request I found out that in the last five years there have been twelve appointments to the Deputy Assistant commissioner grade within the fire service – does the nwfs have any comment that? Although  the amount of women in the fire service has been going up, only 4% of the firefighter service

Keeping Tabs On The Men

You’ve said there was a great camaraderie being on the watch but did you ever have to deal with much sexism being a firefighter? Well when I joined in 1988 there were just very few woman firefighters so it was difficult then but now I speak to women firefighters and they say they have a

Heroes and Heroines

Dany Cotton is the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the London Fire Brigade and National Chair of Networking Women in the Fire Service (NWFS). She is also the highest ranking female fire fighter in the British Fire service. I sat down and had a chat with her about the highs and lows of the job and saving Cutty

Only 4%

Firefighting has been in and out of the news a lot in the last two months and not necessarily for good reasons. As Julie Bindel points out the recent story about the woman who got 40% burns over her body as a result of pouring petrol from a jerry can to a jug in her

Exercise Forward Defensive: Audio Slideshow

For two days, London’s combined emergency response force staged a large-scale training exercise simulating a terror attack during the Olympic Games. Featuring all of the emergency services, as well as specialist transport divisions, the huge rescue and containment operation was deemed to be a success by Home Secretary Theresa May. With a press presence and

The Stories of Working Firefighters

Continuing on from the first interview I did with Pat Utting at Southwark Station (found here) I have been talking to a range of firefighters from different backgrounds asking them about their experiences on the job. These two gentlemen  are from Southgate Fire Station. An older man sits down in front of me, he is

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