The book ends a year after Grenfell when Kennedy-Macfoy decided to quit his career as a firefighter. As I breathed in it was searing my lungs, a bit like trying to breathe in over a boiling kettle, I was lying on the floor in a puddle of steaming water trying to find some cooler air. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. One was setting the vehicle up as the control point whilst the leading firefighter collected the nominal roll boards from each of the fire engines. The latest book from author and retired fireman David Pike, I Was a London Firefighter is an anthology of factual narratives and fictional tales loosely based around the personal experiences of individual members of the London Fire Brigade.

They are the person next doorThey are like you and me with warts and worries and unfulfilled dreams.To some extent he was able to view the more severe incidents with detachment and just focus on getting casualties out. I got some relief by breathing in the cool clean air that was being forced out of the nozzle with the water. I took off the BA set at the back of the pump and the Spanish officer gave me a hug around the shoulder and a hearty pat saying something to me in Spanish.

Some of these remain all-too-familiar, such as the King's Cross fire of 1987 which claimed the lives of 31 people; others, no less terrible, have faded into distant memory. We turned up on bonfire night because we knew it would be busy and offered to make the tea and cook some dinner for them,” he said. Stephen joined the brigade in 1987, with his first shift the day after the King’s Cross fire that claimed the lives of 31 people.This book details the many failings that occurred at the site on that particular night - but from a live in-action perspective.

It takes in such subjects as the IRA's 20‑year bombing campaign in London and the changing status of female firefighters. Awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct he also rowed himself into the Guinness Book of Records whilst raising many thousands of pounds for charity. Telling of his experiences at the Grenfell Tower Fire (episode 1) and Film crews followed him on his day-to-day duties as a Borough Commander (episode 2). Being an ex LFB Firefighter this book is a great read so far (only half way through the book at time of writing) can relate to much of what is written and also recollect some of the incidents of which are mentioned.

Some of these remain all-too-familiar, such as the King’s Cross fire of 1987 which claimed the lives of 31 people; others, no less terrible, have faded into distant memory. He is best for his contribution to Fire Service articles relating to Fire Service Command, Fire Service Tactics especially around Firefighting in high rise buildings. Also found it odd that he abandoned his team for another; like he just wanted to go in and then later chastised his crew for complaining that they didn’t get to go in to Grenfell tower. The book starts with the events at the Grenfell Tower and Kennedy-Macfoy describes his job at this day and how shocking it was to see so many dead bodys - especially women and children - in the tower, after he had to go in and see how many bodys they can find.

The fact that this is all done in a very readable manner, and in shortish chunks, means it can be used partly as a reference book for information but also as a 'Wow, did people really do that' page turner. A really engaging read for anyone interested in London's history, the fire service or just people doing an extraodinary job. The building had been a death-trap for the initial attending crews but was relatively safe and the fire was out by 10:30.I’ve seen there are some criticism around how the author describes Grenfell and his experiences of it, I can understand their concern regarding the timing of the book, however, I think the way he describes his feelings and what he has seen is true to him. Wharf Life is the publication for people working and living in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London. A wonderful use of his time in producing this enjoyable read that goes towards helping a worthy charity. A book that has so much potential but that in fact should probably be in the fiction section due to an author who is completely obsessed with portraying himself as the hero and victim in a story of his life that really shows him as out of control and a maverick.