The book felt like it was something the author needed to do, to try and cope with what he had seen and the loss of his mother, who sounds like an amazing woman.

There were many times when I was reading that I wanted more information on incidents, many of them didn’t feel detailed enough, never getting the full story, having said that I understand and respect that all of the incidents affect real people.

Firefighters don't get as much recognition as they should, and this book highlights that they are the unsung heroes of our emergency services. Here it's a very bad situation since the author had to take different professions and different jobs to care for himself and his younger brother.

The book includes reminiscences by former firefighters alongside descriptions of key historical figures.Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality. Above all, it shows an unwavering appreciation of and empathy for the concerns and drives of the ordinary firefighter, born of David’s own experiences as a fireman. This man reads as a truly great guy and is a genuine hero - I just think perhaps the way it was written in parts got me a bit. What is clearly evident is his love and passion for the job, for those he worked with and for the public he served. I’ve seen there are some criticism around how the author describes Grenfell and his experiences of it, I can understand their concern regarding the timing of the book, however, I think the way he describes his feelings and what he has seen is true to him.

I was probably fairly bright and had been doing well with my studies but I know I was a bit of a disappointment to my parents because, having been put in the advanced classes with good reports, at that time I decided I didn’t need to worry about all that because I was going to be a fireman. Some of these remain all-too-familiar, such as the King’s Cross fire of 1987 which claimed the lives of 31 people; others, no less terrible, have faded into distant memory.

The tragic incident at Gillender St was one that resonated having both received and given input to support Breathing Apparatus training and like Steve, I was on duty when 9/11 in New York happened.

They are the person next doorThey are like you and me with warts and worries and unfulfilled dreams. The following excerpt is from the chapter “Anatomy of a Fire,” following Station Officer Simon Reece – a third-generation firefighter with the London Fire Brigade.It seems to me that the detractors are focusing on details in the first chapter and not appraising the wider picture. Then, turning back the BA team, he listened intently to their report before saying: “Well done lads. I was completely disgusted to read about the treatment of Edric by the police, I get they were under pressure but that is no way to treat a person and is certainly not justice.