New fireman joins the ranks in Staines

He previously worked in Heathrow airport, but said he always wanted to be a firemen.

Dave, who was born in Ashford Hospital and attended Matthew Arnold School in Staines, said: "I wanted to work in a place where I could provide a service to the community and do something positive.

"I always wanted to be a fireman because I thought it was going to be my long term career. But it was good to get a bit of life experience before and go travelling.

"Being a fireman is good because you get to be in an environment where you are saving lives. There is nothing like it."

David joins the station's red watch, who work on a rotational basis with three other watches in the station so someone is always on call.

Watch manager Nigel Wade said: "Our role is no longer reactive but also pro-active. We don't want there to be any fires, so we like to work with the community in trying to educate people as much as possible in trying to prevent them."

The firemen offer a service where they come round to residents houses and carry out an evaluation to see how safe the house is.

The free service is called a Home Fire Risk Check and comes with a free smoke alarm.

Call 0800 085 0767 for more information.