3 minute read
Fire Service Retirement
FIRE SERVICE RETIREMENT Farewell after three decades of service
After three decades of serving the communities of Staffordshire, Fire Station Manager Gary Fox has hung up his helmet.
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On January 16 some 31years after his inaugural day Gary walked out of the Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service headquarters for the last time.
The story began on a Thursday morning in November 1990, when Gary first enrolled on the new recruits course to pursue a long-held ambition of becoming a firefighter. But it wasnt always smooth-sailing.
Gary said: My first day was November 8, 1990, where I started my 18-weeks training at Newcastle Fire Station. Its no secret though that I found the course difficult in the beginning. I was actually put on a two-week notice period originally as I wasnt meeting the required standard. It takes perseverance though, and thanks to the support of the recruits and instructors I was able to get through and complete the training.
Learning & Development trainers in 2008 (Gary Fox is pictured in the back row, centre)
Gary then began his career as part of Blue Watch in Stafford in March 1991. The Watch were absolutely brilliant at supporting new recruits and I truly believe that the six-and-a-half-years I spent there probably set me up for the rest of my career, Gary said.
During his service, Gary attended various incidents across Staffordshire.
He said: Whilst I was on Red Watch Stafford, we were called to reports of a 14-yearold boy who was stuck up a tree. He had been climbing with friends and had reached 100 foot, before getting anxious and becoming stuck. I was tasked to use our Rope Rescue Equipment to climb up to him, fit a harness so he couldnt fall, and guide him down to safety.
Blue Watch Stafford 1991 (Gary Fox is pictured in the back row, second from the left)
The whole thing took three hours but luckily we managed to rescue him without injury. It ended up being reported by the national press. I also recall one New Years Eve being spent in the cage of a Hydraulic Platform in Longton.
Gary continued: Ive honestly learned from every incident I have attended. Some of the jobs Ive been to have not gone according to plan but my training always taught me to prepare for failure.
Gary has also worked across other watches, including Newcastle Red, Stone Orange and Stafford Red - however, there are other elements of the job that Gary will miss, including working within the Learning and Development and the Firewatch team.
Gary said he has witnessed first-hand how Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service has adapted over the last three decades from not having a single computer at stations in 1991 - to operating within a vast digital landscape in 2022.
He said: Back in the 90s, windows were just something you looked through. Weve come from a predominantly response-based service to one which works with multiple partner agencies to support the most vulnerable in our communities. Now we are preventing fires from starting in the first place, supporting victims, as
well as responding to incidents with a new array of equipment and resources.
Gary had three roles as he left the service, as a Station Manager, an on-call firefighter, and also Team Lead for the Enhanced Logistics Support Team.
For his final day, Gary returned to where it all started at Blue Watch in Stafford.
He said: There are still colleagues there who I worked with a few years ago, so I thought it was only fitting that I rounded-off an incredible 31years there before I say goodbye.
He added: I am immensely proud to have been a firefighter within Staffordshire and I am so grateful to have been able to work with our communities and so many fantastic colleagues across the service. I am really going to miss
