Being a bit of a bookworm I was surprised and chuffed to be given the opportunity to read Warriors in Fire Boots that recounts tales of the heroic deeds carried out by men and women of the Fire Service over the last 150 years.
When you read of the conditions and fires that our predecessors encountered it's simply amazing to learn of the countless acts of heroism and selflessness that unfold before you.
These guys had very little in the way of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) – fire kit – and invariably had to rely on dodgy water supplies, steam-driven pumps and faced buildings with virtually no built-in fire prevention / protection and the haphazard storage of highly flammable products…
Time and again men undertook rescues that seem impossible but carried them off with little more than a nod to the extreme danger they were in. But there are plenty of incidents where luck runs out and I find myself thinking of how I'd cope if confronted by fires of the magnitude described in this book.
A large part of the book is given over to the immense challenges faced by the National Fire Service and the Auxiliary Fire Service during World War II – not only the Blitz but throughout the whole of the war. I can't even start to comprehend fires that have 500+ pumps mobilised to them. Oil refinery fires that burn for weeks or the utter and complete devestation caused when hundreds upon hundreds of houses are destroyed in a few hours, the enormous loss of life – how did the men and women of the Fire Service face this day after day and still come back for more?
And then we head into more recent times and the loss of Fleur Lombard in Bristol back in February 1996. Fleur was one of the first female firefighters in Avon, leading the way as more and more women now realise their ambition of becoming firefighters. The fire in which Fleur died was set deliberately. The death of any firefighter is hard to bear but losing someone through the deliberate and callous actions of an arsonist is beyond comprehension.
Reading about so many firefighters that have paid the ultimate sacrifice in doing the job they love could be morbid and depressing but I feel different to that…
It's inspiring and uplifting that men and women still willingly put their lives on the line to save and protect those in their community. And, if called upon, I hope that I can live up to the bravery and heroism that fills the pages of Warriors in Fire Boots.
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