A firefighter who has tackled hundreds of blazes has retired after 30 years with the service.
Steven Fryatt, 52, hung up his helmet last Wednesday after spending the last 15 years working at East Ham Fire Station.
“There have been various tragedies over the years, it’s been quite a time. It makes you look at things from a different angle,” said the dad-of-two, who lives in Hornchurch with his wife Sarah.
“Humour is the only way to get through it,” added Steven, whose recent jobs include attending the Canary Wharf bomb scare in May last year.
Like many kids, Steven wanted to become a firefighter from a young age, and fulfilled his dream when he started working at Shadwell Fire Station in 1985, where he would work for 15 years before moving to Newham. But it’s not all rescuing small children from burning buildings, he says.
“We have had lots of road accidents, lots of death and destruction.
“I don’t think firefighters get the credit they deserve – it’s almost expected of them,” he said.
Despite retiring from the London Fire Brigade, Stephen’s got his work cut out taking care of his motorbike business, Japs Motorcycles in Upminster, leaving little time for his leisure activities of choice: fishing and golf.
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