Steve B – Assistant County Fire Officer

What did you do before you joined the service?

When I left school I was unsure of which career path to take and joined the army for a short time because I didn’t want a normal 9 to 5 job; I wanted something more challenging. I was just like any other young teenager; I enjoyed life and had a lot of fun. However on one occasion I got into trouble with the police and ended up with a juvenile record for obstructing a Police Officer. It’s not something I’m proud of but it proves that you can make mistakes and still become a firefighter. Fortunately the service has never held it against me because I learned from my mistakes.

After leaving the Army, I was given the opportunity to join a Youth Opportunity Programme for six months with the Fire Service. The work really interested me but I had to wait 18 months to join the programme because of the long waiting list. Whilst I was waiting I got a job as a labourer in a Cotton Mill. But my brief experience of the Fire Service had convinced me that I wanted to do something a bit more fulfilling and long-term. Joining the service was one of the best decisions I ever made. There’s never been a day where I haven’t wanted to get up for work, and I always go home feeling that the day’s work has been worthwhile. There aren’t many jobs where you can say that.

Can you remember your first ‘shout’?

Oh yes. It was 12.01am on New Year’s Day, 1980. We were called to a fire alarm at the local hospital, but not to put out a fire. The staff were having a party and we think one of them had set off the fire alarm because they wanted to kiss a firefighter to bring in the New Year! I thought hey, it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.

It was fun at the time, but false alarms are now a real problem for the fire and rescue service and it’s my job to develop policies for reducing the number of false calls we attend. I’d certainly have to have a few strong words with the hospital if it happened now!

Tell us a bit about your career so far

I started out as a firefighter at Werneth, near Oldham. Then, after about six and a half years, I was promoted to Leading Firefighter (now called Crew Manager) at a station in Oldham. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of working on the frontline, however the time soon came for a change. So when I had the chance to join the Fire Safety team at Manchester Central I went for it.

As a Fire Safety Officer, I carried out inspections on City Centre buildings and made recommendations as to how businesses could improve things. People really respected our opinion, and valued the advice and guidance we gave them. That respect is one of the main reasons I love being part of the service. For some reason we seem to get more appreciation than the Police or Ambulance service, even though their roles are just as important as ours.

I eventually transferred to Fire Service Headquarters where I advised on fire safety in major building projects including Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport. I then moved back on to the operational side and worked at a fire station in Central Manchester. All in all, I spent nine years as an operational firefighter and I loved pretty much every minute of it. I have since worked in a number of managerial positions before taking on my current role as the Assistant Chief Fire Officer, where I’m responsible for Fire Safety for the whole of Greater Manchester.

So it’s safe to say the service offers a broad range of opportunities

Definitely. Once you’ve joined you can do so many different things. You can gain qualifications, try your hand at management, or focus on promoting fire safety out in the community. But you don’t have to constantly chop and change like I did. In fact, there are plenty of people who are happy just to remain a firefighter. And we’re grateful for it, as their experience is pretty much invaluable.

What about the hours?

The service is getting far more flexible to be honest. Reduced hours and career breaks are possible and you don’t necessarily have to work weekends for certain jobs. Plus you don’t have to work full time to earn a decent salary. For example, you could work 30 hours a week and still earn about £18,000 a year.

How important is diversity within the service?

It’s essential really. We need to be able to see things from the same perspective as the people we protect. If we can’t make that connection, we may not be able to get our fire safety messages across – and that can increase the risk of fire.

Achieving that diversity won’t happen overnight though. The service is still largely made up of white males, but that’s changing. More and more women are seeing the fire service as a place to develop a rewarding career, and the applications we receive from other under-represented groups rises year on year. At the end of the day, it’s your ability to do the job that counts. Get that right and it doesn’t matter what background you come from.

One thing’s for sure, when you join you become part of the fire service family and we all look after one another. That teamwork is essential to what we do because, in order to protect the public, there will be times when we have to place our lives in each others’ hands.