London firefighter retires after 50 years of service

One of London Fire Brigade's longest serving firefighters has retired after 50 years in the service.

Clive Robinson started his career at 18 years old when he was paid 80p an hour.

Mr Robinson attended many of London's challenging incidents over the decades, including IRA bombs exploding on Oxford Street in the 1970s and more recently the wildfires in Wennington and Dagenham.

The firefighter said: "There is no better job satisfaction than saving a life."

In 1975, Mr Robinson said he had moved to the fire service after working in a supermarket, and he instantly doubled his wages to £2,000 a year.

His first uniform consisted of a fire helmet made of cork which, he recalls "had no eye protection".

"Our gloves were just PVC gloves, mainly to keep your hands clean, they offered no heat protection – they were just like gardening gloves that can be bought at a garden centre today," he said.

Clive particularly remembers the wool tunics: "They were very absorbent and heavy once wet, so I was glad to see them go!"

Mr Robinson said one of his strongest memories of helping someone was in the 1980s when had rescued a man from a burning building.

"We brought the man outside. He wasn't conscious or breathing and his prognosis was not good. He was resuscitated but we never knew if he survived," he said.

The firefighter explained that in the early days they had "no way" of finding out what happened to the people they had helped.

But, a month later, Mr Robinson bumped into the man's sister in a pub.

"She told us he had survived. It was the best feeling in the world," he said.

Some time later, Mr Robinson was able to meet the man himself and see him on his road to recovery.

Mr Robinson said the recent wildfires in 2022 had been one of his most challenging jobs.

"We've all seen the wildfires that happen in California and Los Angeles, and I never thought I'd see that in London.

"I hope firefighters never experience that again," he said.

"Driving home that day, no matter what side of the A13, there were plumes of dark smoke from the fires that were still burning, or new ones that had broken out. That drive home is one I'll never forget."

Over the years, Mr Robinson said he had watched as the London Fire Brigade had changed.

He remembers an influx of female firefighters in 1979 after a change to the standard shift patterns required of a firefighter.

He said: "Women joined us on the frontline, and this opened up the culture, from what was a 'man's job' to a job for everyone. Today we have a multicultural brigade, and we are all the better for it!"

Mr Robinson has said he now plans to enjoy his retirement with his wife Sylvie - who also used to work for the London Fire Brigade - in their newly bought campervan.

She said: "Is he ready to give up work? That's a good question!

"I wouldn't be surprised if he woke up tomorrow morning and said 'would you mind if I went back to work?'"

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