>
>
© 2008 Tedwill
A firemans job is about dealing with people in distress under difficult conditions.They have to help people from the most horrific places, sometimes that are really accidents or someone in the wrong place at a particular time. The life of a fireman is dealing with those incidents and doing the best they can using the high level of training they have to carry out almost every working hour. No longer are the days of sitting around a TV or playing pool all the time. Now it is constant appraisal and hard work.
I think my interest in things fire started at an early age as I described previously. We had a bonfire every year to celebrate Guy Fawkes night on the 'debris'. I had my first experience of the fire service when I was about 7 or 8. One night the Civil Defence organized an exercise in one of the big derelict houses in my street. They used big arc searchlights, turntable ladders and hoses and the most memorable thing was they made a beef drink that was absolutely scrumptious. I only had it the once. I learned how to make cooking fires in the scouts and of course we had camp fires, big ones.
When I was working at Roehampton as a leatherworker making artificial legs, there was a fire there and two men working the factory were members of the auxiliary fire service (AFS), they worked part time as firemen for the Civil Defence Authority. My interest was fired and I wanted to know more. I thought this was a worthwhile occupation so when I was 18 (1964) I joined the Auxiliary Fire Service as a fireman. Training was basic and once I had completed the course I was posted to a crew based at Ealing fire station. We rode on the Green Goddess's fire engines to fires and we supported the full time firemen. I became a member of three auxiliary crews based at Acton, Ealing and Euston fire stations and spent one night at each every week at the same time as doing a regular 9 to 5 job so many a time I was very tired during the day whilst at work. I was attending scout meetings one night a week and at weekends, so life was very busy.
In 1968, the government in its infinite wisdom decided to disband the Civil Defence Authority because there was no threat of war. That meant I was in a dilemma. I loved going to fires and the whole life with the fire brigade, but I had not finished my qualification exams to be a laboratory technician in my daytime job (I was a laboratory technician) at Charing Cross Hospital in London. I decided I must finish that and then I would try to join the regular fire brigade. That posed a problem in that I have deformed feet which at times made walking difficult. Fortunatly, I was able to have 4 separate operations on them that enabled me to overcome the difficulties, but it still left a challenge to become a full time fireman because of the levels of fitness required. So, in 1973 I applied to join the full time fire service. I passed the entrance exams including the medical, as one of 17 out of over 2000 applicants, so the standard was very high, and still is. I was a little concerned about my feet and they asked if I thought I could do the job. I told them I had been in the AFS and they said ok. I was so happy!!!! This was christmas, birthday and everything rolled into one happiness. I left my job at the hospital and went to train as a full time fireman, everything went well for 12 weeks and then disaster. The instructor noticed I was limping and asked why. (after 7 operations on your feet, wouldn't you limp?) I explained what had happened and he said he was not happy and that I would have to have a review. I was interviewed and they told me I had to leave. I asked if they would take the assurance of the surgeon who had carried out the operations that I could do the job. They agreed, so I contacted him and asked for an appointment explaining why I needed it. I saw him and he asked me what I wanted to say in the letter he was to write to the fire brigade, so I dictated it to him, he agreed and sent it off. Two weeks later I was reinstated. Cool!!!!!!!!!!!
I finished training and passed out with the highest points in both practical and theory that year. I was posted to white watch at Knightsbridge, just round the corner for Harrods. My first fire was at a new hotel being built ay hyde park corner. I made a big balls up of that! Like most probationers, I took the hosereel in my excitement and ran with it towards the fire. They are on a drum and when you pull on the drum it unwinds. I ran too fast and was embarressed when it tied in a knot before i got to the fire. I had a severe dressing down after that. I spent a year at knightsbridge and then I had some more trouble. We were doing drill in the station yard one day and my toe slipped off the ladder as I climbed down it. I was questioned about it and then put on light duties while they tried to resolve the matter. I wore standard fire boots and there is about 3" of toe beyond my toe so there was nothing to give support. They decided i would go on light duties and have an office job whilst the bought some hand made boots for me. It took over 6 months. I had been posted to headquarters to work as a car driver for officers. One day I saw the top union rep having lunch so i chatted to him and the boots came up. He said it was a rather long time to make boots. So he looked into it. They had been in stores for 5 months and no one had told me. I got my new boots and was posted to red watch at Kensington.
I spent 4 years at Kensington and became a fire engine driver and attended many fires. I had finally found the job i really wanted to do. I then went for promotion and passed all of the statutory exams and was posted, on request, to specialist duties in what was called Operations Room. Here we monitored and resolved problems with regard manning and equipment for the whole of London Fire Brigade. We also attended all fires that involved more than 4 pumping appliances and all chemical and special incidents. Covering an area of 625 square miles of some of the most densily populated area in the world at that time. We had a daily duty roster where we took on specilist duties for that day. One such day I was water officer for which if we went to a large fire it was my duty to ensure there were adequate water supplies at the fire. I had to liaise with the water authority and locate pnds and lakes so we could suppliment the water to a fire. This particular day the Alexandra Palace caught fire. It was being refurbished and they had drained the water tanks to the hose reels. We arrived and I found 24 pumps transferring water from one small hydrant up the hill in what we called a relay. There were no spare pumps to take water from a lake next to the palace. After I requested further pumps to attend, I was told no, the building burnt down. Guess who got the blame! Anyway my career did progress from there after passing my member of the Institute of Fire Engineers exam I was posted to Chiswick fire station in 1982 and was immediatly temorarily promoted to station officer (captain) at various stations for the next year. In 1983 I was permanatly posted as Station officer in the Hounslow Fire Prevention department where I took on the role of inspector of hotels, and work places applying the Fire precautions Act which they had to adhere to. I progressed in 1985 to become the main inspector for Heathrow Airport fire safety and I was in that role, along with general inspections for the next 3 years. I got a further promotion to Assistant divisional officer in fire safety before being posted out to be incharge of a station again and providing senior officer cover for the whole north west of London. I did that until i retired at age 48 in 1993.