Firefighter tells of North heroes' blaze of glory - Sunday Sun

THESE pictures show how the hard work and bravery of firefighters often goes unnoticed.

But retired fireman Arthur Lockyear, who battled blazes across the North for 30 years, has penned a book celebrating his heroic colleagues.

The 59-year-old from Ushaw Moor, Durham, said he felt it was something which needed to be done for the “good of the service”.

And so he has written Warriors in Fireboots to tell the incredible stories of the firefighter’s calling.

“The book is my tribute to the many extraordinarily courageous people whom I have had the great fortune to have met,” said Arthur, who worked in Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside during his three-decade career with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.

Arthur, who has been awarded an MBE for his work organising the Sunderland Remembrance Day Parade, has spent two years gathering together stories for the book.

The tales span the length and breadth of the country, and go back in time to take in the very first men who risked their lives in the fire brigade, as well as the heroic firefighters of the Blitz in the Second World War.

“There were so many stories to chose from,” said Arthur. “They start back in 1861 in London and come right up to date in 2005, with two firefighters from Stevenage who lost their lives.”

via Firefighter tells of North heroes' blaze of glory - Sunday Sun.