Yahoo News Durham and Darlington Fire Service celebrates 50th anniversary as father and son Firefighters reunite at new look station
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service has celebrated its 50th anniversary as a pair of father and son firefighters reunited at a new-look station. Billy Hindmarch, 76, and his son Graham, 47, have spent just shy of 40 combined years as firefighters.
Billy spent more than 24 years as a firefighter in Darlington, serving during the 1974 change of boundaries when County Durham and Darlington merged to create one service. He said: "I worked in the joinery trade for quite a few years, mainly in factories, but I got to the point where I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.
"I always fancied joining the fire service, so I applied to Darlington and, fortunately, I got in. It was a lot different working for the fire service in 1970 compared to what it is like now, as it was a different job all together then.
"Darlington had a different and smaller station, and we didn’t have the standard of equipment that crews have got now. The new fire engines have a lot more room in the back and the front.
"We would also have to get road maps out to find locations, so it has come on leaps and bounds. I think the other firefighters I served with will be very impressed with it."
Billy retired in 1994, and 15 years later, his son followed in his dad’s footsteps and joined the Service. Graham added: "I joined because my dad was a firefighter and I had grown up being around the fire service - it was all I ever wanted to do.
"It is a practical job where you can help people and I get a great satisfaction from that. I am really proud to be following in my dad’s footsteps and being able to show him around the new Darlington fire station.
"The best part of the job was being able to help people in everyday life - whether that’s fires, rescues, or car accidents and that’s one of the things that has stuck with me.
"There aren’t as many fires these days as there would have been back in my dad’s day, thanks to smoke alarms and things like that. I have only ever experienced one rescue where I pulled someone out of a burning building.
"It doesn’t happen very often, but you train for that for years, so when it does, and you save someone’s life it is a great feeling."
