‘GET YOUR HAIR CUT – OR DON’T COME BACK!’
Fire service stalwart recalls first-day trip to barber as prelude to 50-year career
AS HE stood in a fire station a keen trainee, Kelvin Knapper’s introduction to the service was short and sharp - get a haircut or go back home.
Thankfully for those whose lives he went on to save over the next 50 years, Kelvin’s next stop was a barber’s chair.
And Kelvin, of Stoke-on-trent, is still serving to this day and is aiming to inspire the next generation of recruits as he marks an incredible five decades.
It was 9am on August 12, 1974 – with The Three Degrees at the top of the charts – when he first stepped foot in the old Newcastle Fire Station.
He said: “At 9.10am I was told ‘go get your haircut or don’t come back this afternoon’. Well it’s 50 years later, 2024, I’m still here at what is the new Newcastle Fire Station, and I did go and get my hair cut! I can remember there was 11 of us and there were 14 vacancies.”
When Kelvin marked 40 years he featured in The Sentinel and revealed how, on being formerly stationed in Burslem, his first shift saw him sent to a large factory fire where ‘something from the roof fell on my head’.
Fortunately he was kitted out in a protective helmet so that initial experience didn’t put him off. The dad would then go from the Mother Town station to Newcastle as a ‘leading firefighter’ in 1982 before being named sub officer at North Division Headquarters, Hanley, in 1987. He then moved to the fire service’s HQ as a station officer in 1988.
Looking back on his career, which is still very much going strong, Kelvin said: “Fires are still very hot and water is still very wet – and you still have to put one on the other to succeed! How we’ve done it has changed, protective clothing, equipment, appliances, health and safety, and lifestyles have all improved.
“The incidents I grew up with back in the 70s and 80s were factory fires, mainly pottery ones, and we didn’t really have many derelict buildings then. Electric blanket fires were very common in the winter, just like chip pan fires, chimney fires and we had a lot of deliberate car fires.
“And of course in 1976 we had the long hot summer of wildfires. We did some prevent activities but we didn’t have smoke detectors in those days to give away. Prevent work nowadays saves countless, countless lives.”
Now back in Newcastle as a protection manager, Kelvin has been with the service for as long as it has existed. It was on April 1, 1974 when Stoke-on-trent Fire Brigade, Burton Fire Brigade and Staffordshire Fire Brigade came together to form one service.
He said: “I have worked for all seven chief fire officers since Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service came into existence, which was also in 1975. I did originally apply for Stoke-ontrent City Fire Brigade, so I’m taking the honour of being the last Stoke-on-trent firefighter still serving. I also started in fire investigations in 1988 so I’ve done that for 36 years now, with far too many fatalities dealt with that I wish to remember.”
Aside from battling fires and saving lives, Kelvin is pleased to see the ‘risk information system’ he put together still being used, along with his efforts to set up the formal fire investigation training for crews and fire investigation officers.
He added: “The service has changed massively. Not only in the range of incidents firefighters now attend, but the role has also changed over the years.
“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.
“We’re also much better prepared now should an incident occur and the advances in technology have ensured firefighters are much safer when responding to incidents. What hasn’t changed is the camaraderie, skills and commitment of all the persons involved in Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.”
Kelvin, who was surprised with a presentation from Chief Fire Officer Rob Barber, isn’t hanging up his helmet and boots just yet and ‘in the last few years’ is aiming to inspire the next generation. He added: “It’s a fantastic organisation to work for and I wouldn’t still be here after 50 years if it wasn’t. For anyone who is after a career that is rewarding, offers variety and the opportunity to progress, I’d definitely look towards the fire and rescue service.”