Last Friday I handed in my uniform after 30 years service for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.
It was a day of mixed emotions and it’s been an interesting ride to say the least. First as a Firefighter, then a Junior Officer and finally a Fire Safety Inspecting Officer. Joining South Yorkshire County Fire and Civil Authority (as it was called back then) in 1988, as a recruit fireman was a big deal. Over 2000 applicants applied for just 16 places and I was fortunate enough to get one.
Initially, I was posted to Maltby fire station near Rotherham. I was there for four years before moving to Sheffield Central. Although Maltby had its challenges, Central Fire Station was a real eye-opener – it was far busier and a great experience.
I spent the next 9 years in and around stations in Sheffield before moving into Technical Fire Safety in 2002. This new department was a huge learning curve, but thanks to the old hands in the office, it was an excellent learning environment. Fire Safety courses at the fire service college at Moreton Marsh in Gloucestershire followed, plus numerous in-house training courses and I don’t think that there’s a day gone by where I haven’t picked up some piece of information that’s helped my day to day work. I’ve really enjoyed specialising in Fire Safety for the last 17 years of my career.
The thing I will miss most are my colleagues because, come rain or shine, they were there to give help and advice if needed – offering a snippet of information to slot the jigsaw together, making light work of what could have been a problem and I hope they felt that was reciprocated. We would all sit down for a drink at break time and lunchtime, we were the only department to do this and in this day and age is something special and unique.
I’m looking forward to working with my son, Eli, and the challenges of starting and running a business. We will be striving to make a positive impact on the people we meet, the places we go, whilst all the while aiming to enjoy ourselves in the process.
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Brendan Ingle GIFireE
Fire Safety Consultant
Ingle & Ingle Fire Safety Consultancy
Mobile: 07940 95 96 99
Email: inglefiresfety@yandex.com
Ingle & Ingle Fire Safety Consultancy 