Sunday 4 November 2018

Malcolm Castle: Fire Fighting in Shropshire

Photograph © Malcolm Castle
This month, we were entertained by fire fighter and author, Malcolm Castle, who talked mainly about the humorous side of fire fighting. He joined the Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service when he was 18 years of age in 1980 and served for 32 years on Red Watch, based at Shrewsbury Fire Station. 

Malcolm told us that when a call is received, the crew can get dressed and ready to travel within 35 seconds in the daytime and within 53 seconds at night. New recruits are given the title the jockey, and to keep the rest of the team entertained (in quiet moments, of course) they're sent by senior members on foolish errands, which are said to be character building!


Like many others employed in the emergency services, he has a great sense of humour is able to see a funny side to the job, which might help him come to terms with the more harrowing situations he has had to deal with. He talked amusingly about some of the calls (or shouts) they received, such as being sent to rescue animals in odd situations. One case was of a cat that was supposedly stuck in a chimney but after some time was found to be shut in a log box by the fireside. 

Another incident involving a horse trapped in a slurry pit was described in such a way as make us all laugh due to the sticky situation they found themselves in, but also feel sorry for both the horse and the rescuers.  Of course, there were also many serious shouts such as rescuing people trapped in road accidents, as well as fires, which he described as both exciting and challenging.

Malcolm has written several books about his long and varied career, including All Fired Up and Great Bales of Fire, showing the lighter side of a fire fighter's job. He also likes to act and produce plays which was evident in his delivery and description of his past work, and has also helped the BBC as a fire adviser for various programmes, one of which is Casualty.

Whilst Malcolm had entertained and amused us for nearly an hour, we were conscious of the skill and bravery exhibited by fire fighters who are willing to risk their lives to save others. This was recognised in the vote of thanks to Malcolm for his talk.

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