Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2012/January 2013 | Page 39

INTERVIEW

Above: Shanklin Fire Station, Steve's last drill night before leaving to start as a wholetime firefighter in May 1991

important we recognise our
successes in the work we do. If the
crews were silent on me I would
know there was something wrong.
The fact is everyone is getting
involved and is interested in where
we go next.”
Clearly there is much more to
being a fire fighter than putting
out the occasional blaze. The
Service works closely with the
community in many aspects;
has had to deal with the recent
worrying spate of fatal road
accidents, and plays a key role in
major Island events that attract
large numbers of people and
increase the risks - including the
Festival, the Bestival and Cowes
Week. He continued: “So it is a
more diverse range of issues, even
down to an increase in flooding
incidents, grass fires and the like.
But one of the most significant
changes is that in the past the
Fire Service worked very much in

isolation, but we don’t operate like
that today.
“We work with a range of
partners, from blue light
colleagues, organisations within
the council, voluntary sector,
health authorities to identify
the risk and meet the risk needs.
I believe we have delivered an
outstanding operational service,
and are getting far better at
targeting our community safety
for the most vulnerable.”
As for the next 12 months, and
beyond, the economic picture is
unclear, but one thing is certain –
it is not going to improve. Steve
added: “The bottom line is that
th R6