When Robbie was a little boy, he was visiting his grandparents on a Sunday afternoon, and saw a fire engine attending an incident next door. From then onwards it was his dream to become a firefighter. From the age of 14, Robbie, who was then living in Welland, had a Saturday job at his Uncle’s butchers in Ledbury and would see the fire engines going by.
His Saturday job became his full-time job, and so at the first possible opportunity, aged 18, Robbie successfully applied to become an On-Call firefighter. He remembers attending an informal meeting with the Crew Commander in his butchers uniform! For the first two years he was covering days, whilst working locally at the butchers just around the corner from the Fire Station. He then moved house to Ledbury, so was able to also cover nights and weekends. He clearly remembers his alerter going off in the butchers and running down the street to the Fire Station, sometimes along with his colleague Craig.
In 2009 Robbie left the butchers to become a wholetime firefighter, first being posted to Worcester Fire Station Blue Watch, and more recently in 2022 was promoted to Crew Commander at Wyre Forest Red Watch. He continues to cover On-Call on a 60 hour contract at Ledbury.
In the 22 years of Robbie’s firefighter career, there have been many memorable times. “I clearly remember arriving at a property where the only entry point available was a tiny first floor bathroom window. Because of my slim size, I was able to squeeze through the very small space! No one else would have fitted through! I also remember having to leave the butchers on a very busy Saturday morning to attend a wildfire on the Malvern Hills, which lasted all day. After that my employer didn’t allow me to turn out on a Saturday as they struggled without me. I wished I was on the fire engine every time it passed by the shop window!
“It sounds like a cliché but being part of the Fire Service is like having a second family, as you go through so much together. I was the best man at my colleague Craig’s wedding. The crew looked after me when I was younger and now I’m in a position to nurture the new recruits.”
To find out more about becoming an On-Call firefighter: