Tuesday 25 September
14.00hrs
A firefighter from Bath has called time on his career after 30
years responding to shouts in the city.
Michael Dodd, 50, has hung up his fire kit for the last time
after three decades on the same watch. Michael joined the County of
Avon Fire Brigade in October 1977 and was posted to Red Watch at
Bath Fire Station. And unusually for the fire service he has
remained on that same watch for his entire career.
Michael will have been a familiar face to motorists in Bath as
he spent the vast majority of his 30 years as a driver of fire
appliances. Last week he made his last blue light run in a fire
engine that has changed somewhat from those he took the wheel of
during the early years of his career.
Michael said: “Appliances have got bigger, shinier and noisier,
most still had bells when I joined which were a gentle way of
persuading motorists to make way if you didn’t use the
two-tones.”
Reflecting on the many changes he has seen over the years,
including the organisation’s renaming to Avon Fire & Rescue
Service, Michael added: “Fire kit, appliances and equipment have
changed a lot over the years and health and safety for firefighters
has much improved.
“Training used to revolve around water pumping, breathing
apparatus, ladders and rescue drills and making do by improvising.
Now we have equipment to cover most eventualities with New
Dimension (Urban Search and Rescue equipment), vertical line rescue
equipment and our safety boat.”
During his time with the fire service Michael recalls many
memorable ‘shouts’, among them a fire at a Hinton poultry factory.
He jokes about the occasion as he was unfortunate enough to be at
the end of the extendable turntable ladder where he was
inadvertently ‘slow-roasted’ over the fire by one of his
colleagues.
On another occasion Michael was driving Bath’s rescue tender
back to the station when he missed the turning on the M4. He said:
“The next stop was the M5 northbound. We found our way back
eventually through darkest Gloucestershire and a “Welcome Back”
banner greeted us across the appliance bay on our return!”
Aside from his working life Bath Fire Station has also played a
big part in Michael’s private life, as it was there he met his
wife, Alison, in 1982. Alison continues to work as an
administration assistant at the station. The couple married in 1984
and have two children together.
As well as his front line firefighting duties Michael was also
heavily involved in fundraising for the Fire Services National
Benevolent Fund (FSNBF). He served as the area secretary for the
charity that supports fire service staff and their families and
says he will continue to fundraise into his
retirement.