Cambridgeshire firefighter Clive continues helping lives 40 years on
Clive Allen has been at the county's fire service for four decades
A firefighter says he still feels honoured to be trusted to give emergency help the public after joining Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service 40 years ago.
Clive Allen joined his local fire station in Littleport aged 18-years-old as an on-call firefighter and is currently station commander for this and stations in Chatteris, March and Manea.
And to this day, he feels humbled that members of the public can still rely on him during their time of need.
“When they dial 999, they are after some sort of assistance, and I feel honoured I’m one of those people that can offer that sort of assistance,” said Clive.
“You do your absolute utmost with training and support to other firefighters to make sure we do our absolute best as much as we can.”
Clive had left his job as a telecommunications engineer to continue his firefighting career but in a wholetime role, joining Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service before switching to Cambridgeshire in 2010.
He has also taken on other fire service roles within the county, such as a watch commander and an operational resilience role in 2017, ahead of progressing into his current position a year later.
One of the most prominent incidents Clive recalled during his career was saving a family-of-four from a bedroom fire.
“Without our early intervention, the situation was going to be very different and I like to think we saved those lives,” he said.
“You must have resilience that you’re never going to be able to save every life, which is one of those things you have to face.
“Although I had a successful career as a telecoms engineer, as well as being an on-call firefighter, I saw there was an opportunity to make it my full-time job, I went for it and haven’t looked back.”
"You never know what you're going to be faced with"
For Clive, aspects of the fire service may have changed since he first arrived but challenges have remained the same.
In fact, if it wasn’t for being a firefighter, there would not have been an opportunity to meet British royalty.
“The challenges are always the same that you never know what you’re going to be faced with,” Clive added.
“I’ve met Princess Anne and Prince WIlliam when he was flying at the air ambulance.
“I attended a few incidents with him which would never have been open to me had I not been an operational firefighter.”