Firefighter honoured for 50 years of service

Kelvin Knapper joined the fire service in 1974

A firefighter has been honoured for half a century of attending incidents across Staffordshire.

Protection manager Kelvin Knapper started his career as a trainee at Burslem fire station in Stoke-on-Trent in 1974.

He joined at about the same time Stoke-on-Trent, Burton-upon-Trent and Staffordshire fire brigades merged to create Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

He said much had changed within his 50 years but what had not changed was the camaraderie, skills and commitment of all the people involved in Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

"It’s less about responding to incidents now and more about stopping those incidents happening in the first place by educating the public and businesses about the importance of fire safety,” he said.

Mr Knapper was one of the firefighters who responded to the summer of wildfires in the area in 1976, just two years after joining the service.

He has also dealt with a number of large blazes involving factories, chimneys and electric blankets, before smoke alarms were widely used.

'Fantastic achievement'

The fire service was now better prepared to respond to incidents and crews were much safer as a result of the advances in technology, he said.

To mark Mr Knapper’s anniversary, the fire service organised a surprise celebration at the station in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where he was presented with an award.

Chief fire officer Rob Barber presented the award to Mr Knapper during last Monday’s ceremony and described his length of service as a “fantastic achievement”.

“It makes me so proud to represent the service knowing that we’ve got people like Kelvin who proudly devote most of their lives to keeping communities safe in Staffordshire,” he said.