Fire service celebrates 50 years of saving lives

The first trainee firefighter course delivered by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service in 1974

A fire service is celebrating its 50th anniversary by sharing memories of its life-saving work collected from the public.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) is asking people to contribute to an anniversary video, brochure and time capsule.

The time capsule would be opened in another 50 years and include items, images and messages from the public, employees and retired firefighters.

Chief fire officer Peter Heath said: "The evolution of the service could not have been possible without the hard work and commitment demonstrated by every team member past and present."

The time capsule would be placed at Hebburn Tri Station, the service's new carbon-neutral facility, which opened this month.

TWFRS was created through the merger of Newcastle and Gateshead Fire Brigade, Sunderland Fire Brigade, and South Shields and Tynemouth Fire Brigade.

It now has 17 stations and covers 1.1 million residents.

The fire service tackled a tanker fire in Sunderland in 1992

In 1975, the service - then known as Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade -attended its first major incident when a fire broke out in a top floor flat in Brandon House in Benwell, Newcastle.

The building contained 31 flats and 50 firefighters attended the scene. A total of 103 people escaped the fire.

Since then, the service has attended major incidents such as the Sunderland tanker fire in 1992, the Distillex Factory Fire in North Tyneside in 2002 and the "Great Fire of Byker" in 2011.

Phil Tye, chairman of the Tyne and Wear Fire Authority, said he and his colleagues would do "all we can to ensure local communities continue to receive a first class service."