Harrow firefighter celebrates 30 years serving the public

From battling huge blazes to attending serious road smashes firefighter Simon Gallagher has seen it all.

The 49-year-old father-of-two from Harrow was just 18 when he signed up and this year celebrates 30 years with the London Fire Brigade.

Simon, who is stationed in Wembley, said: "I remember training school very well. It was disciplined and challenging, but looking back you realise this was a good thing. I remember moving to my first fire station at Heston (near Hounslow), not really knowing what to expect, but you have to jump in at the deep end. I really enjoyed my time there."

Simon then had spells at Hillingdon, Wembley, Ealing, returning to Wembley where he has spent the last 25 years.

He said: "I have attended many major emergencies in my career, ever since my first shout to a fire alarm at a hospital in Southall.

"Perhaps the most memorable was a huge fire in a video duplication company in South Way, Wembley.

"I have never seen smoke like it and there were 30 fire engines tackling the blaze. Wembley Stadium was being developed at the time and when people saw huge plumes of smoke in the distance they thought the stadium was on fire."

But a firefighting career leads to some humorous moments too. One of Simon's more unusual calls involved rescuing a swarm of bees.

He said: "We were called because a big swarm of bees had attached itself to branches overhanging a busy road. We sent a hydraulic platform and I had to go up it with a beekeeper. I was even wearing a beekeepers' outfit over my fire gear.

"The beekeeper shook the branches and it was literally raining bees. He managed to find the queen and get it into a box, and obviously all the others followed. Amazingly, I didn't get stung."

Simon said the main change to the service in 30 years was in the safety of fire crews. "Health and safety and training have increased markedly."