Forty Years of Serving Hampshire
| Published: 12th September 2008 15:10 |
Hampshire's Deputy Chief Fire Officer has just celebrated 40 years of serving the community.
Alan House joined Hampshire Fire Brigade in August 1968 as a retained firefighter at both Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst Fire Stations.
It was not long before he went wholetime, and began his climb up the career ladder holding a number of positions at stations around the county before taking up his current role 17 years ago.
He is now believed to be the longest serving principal officer in the UK.
Alan House, Deputy Chief Fire Officer of Hampshire In his 40 years, Alan has attended a large number of the county's major incidents.
But in addition to his operational role, Alan is also responsible for all matters relating to fire appliance design specification and the overall management of the fleet.
He is responsible for working with the government in delivering its "New Dimension" national resilience programme as well as heading up the Service's specialist operational and technical rescue teams.
Alan has worked tirelessly to promote Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and is lead officer working within the South East region to introduce the Regional Control Centre and has also promoted international partnerships in countries as far afield as Kenya, The Gambia, Bosnia and Chile.
For this commitment he received the Queen's Fire Service Medal for Distinguished Service in 1998.
Alan's dedication to the job means he is never off duty.
Away from the office he has a passion for fire service history and has written 16 books covering a variety of fire service subjects.
Alan also maintains a small museum and archive at Service headquarters in Eastleigh, responding on a regular basis to family research requests and general matter relating to fire service history.
Additionally he is archivist and trustee for the Firefighter Memorial Charitable Trust as well as archivist for the British Fire Service Association and the national Chairman of the Fire Heritage Network UK.
Alan has also been instrumental in promoting awareness and support for the Fire Fighters Charity and raised thousands of pounds for this charity.
Alan with HRH The Duke of Gloucester at the opening of the new Fleet Maintenance Centre
In April of this year, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Hampshire Fire Service, the Duke of Gloucester visited the Service and officially opened the new Fleet Maintenance Centre.
At the same time HRH unveiled the Service's fourth bronze statue representing firefighters through the ages - with the statues designed and paid for through Alan's fundraising.
All of this tied in with Alan's 40th anniversary of working for the Service.
Also working for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service are Alan's son Darren and daughter Chantelle.
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