Eric Robson was one of the first recruits to join the service following merger of County Durham Fire Brigade with Darlington Fire Brigade.
It’s been 50 years since Eric Robson became a Firefighter, but not a day goes by when he doesn’t look back on his career with pride.
On April 1, 1974, Eric was on the first cohort of trainee Firefighters to join the Fire Service following the merger of County Durham Fire Brigade with Darlington Fire Brigade.
The boundary change heralded in a new era for the Fire and Rescue Service and to mark the milestone 30 new recruits were chosen to begin their training to become operational Firefighters.
Eric was one of the 27 candidates to successfully complete the course at Framwellgate Moor Training School in Durham and went on to enjoy a 34-year career in the Fire Service.
The 68-year-old said it was his Firefighter dad, Tommy Robson, inspired him to join half a century ago.
“My dad was a Firefighter serving Jarrow and Hebburn and my uncle, Rob Stoves, was also in the Fire Service as a Station Officer at Durham,” Eric said.
“I was brought up with some knowledge of the job through this family connection.
“As a child, I would go to the Christmas parties on the stations and pop into Hebburn Fire Station when my dad was on duty during the school holidays.”
Following his training, Eric worked as a Firefighter in Peterlee and Fence Houses before transferring to Cleveland Fire Brigade in 1977.
There, he rose through the ranks to become Assistant District Officer and spent three years on secondment at the Fire Service College.
Eric then moved to South Wales where he worked as Training Officer and Deputy Divisional Commander for Gwent Fire Brigade before it became part of South Wales Fire Service.
His varied career also included a stint as Assistant Inspector of Fire Services and a lecturing role at Coventry University.
Eric retired on March 31, 2006, after nearly 34 years in the Fire Service and said he loved every minute of it.
“It is the best job in the world and I would do it all over again in an instant,” Eric said.
“I’m proud to have been one of the first ever cohorts under the new boundary change.
“I’m also proud to have been a Firefighter and to have served the community.”
The dad-of-three continued: “My advice to anyone who wants to be a Firefighter would be to study hard and get fit.
“Once you are lucky enough to be a Firefighter, decide what path you want your career to go down and how to achieve that.
“There are so many roles available.”
