The Elements: 8 Things That Only Make Sense If You Grew Up In a Firefighting Family
What do you think, when you think about fire?
...the flicker of a candle; the warmth of an open hearth, paired with the comfort of an oversized armchair and a good book; embers dancing above a campfire, and marshmallows; or, for the netflix junkies, the party that never happened...
None of these would be my first choice.
You see, I grew up in a ‘firefighting family’. My parents at the time of their retirement had more than seventy-years’ employment between them with our regional local Fire and Rescue Service; Dad as a firefighter, and then Officer, of our local fire station; Mum worked at Service HQ, spending a number of years’ as an emergency call-handler; Grandad too was an Officer years’ before my Dad; and I’m the niece of a firefighter another three-times over.
Growing up in a this ‘firefighting family’ definitely brought something to my childhood that was different to a lot of my friends’ - in some ways it feels like it *was* my childhood. This is why when I think about ‘fire’, I somehow seem to think of it with a strange fondness, and just a hint of nostalgia.
And that’s not even the weirdest thing. Hindsight is 20:20 and now that I've grown up I’ve realised there are so many other things about growing up in a firefighting family, that only make sense if you’ve been through it. And maybe not even then...
Those sexy firefighter calendars are a no-no because to you firefighters are your dad and his work colleagues... *massive cringe*
I’m not even sure that this requires explanation or justification, to be honest. But put it this way, it did not matter how brooding the look, how chiselled the six-pack, how much sweat-shine they’d sprayed on the perfectly toned bod of those firefighter models, - no matter *how cute* the puppy they got the model to hold. That uniform is still something I’d seen my dad wear a thousand times. It’s a no from me - burn it.
2. Heavy duty hand cleaner was a permanent feature by the kitchen sink
Unlike most homes, where you’d find the usually anti-bacterial handwash, some lotion if you’re lucky, our hand-hygiene offer went one step further; Swarfega. It was a necessary addition, considering Dad would regularly come back from drill practice, or a call-out, up to the elbow in carbon and ash. When I was little I would sneak a squirt of it for myself - it made light work of my minor grimeiness, I can tell you.
3. Making it through a family dinner without interruption from the resident ‘bleeper’ was as close to a miracle as you could hope for.
Eventually - for my younger sister and I at least - this became a hilarious betting game: will Dad get to finish his dinner today, or won’t he? These days I just call home around dinner time, just to see if I can achieve the same perfect mid-meal timing as that bleeper used to, just to wind him up - but back then it was just a game of luck. And there’d be no telling how long he’d be gone - maybe 10-minutes, maybe 10-hours. I only hoped that if it was the latter, that someone brought snacks.
4. Frances the Firefly made your top-three childhood fictional characters.
For those unfamiliar with the tale of Francis, let me enlighten you. Francis wanted more than anything to be a grown-up firefly with a big glowy butt like her friends - but alas, she had not even a butt twinkle. Francis is understandably very sad and she makes the decision to use a match to help her shine brightly like the others. Francis is burned, the match causes a fire and Francis learns her lesson to never play with matches. A real Public Safety Campaign treat.
5. Many of your childhood photos feature some sort of fire regalia.
I’ve lost count of the number of photos I’ve seen of myself as a young child in fire-engine dungarees, wearing a too-big firefighter helmet, sat proudly in the front seat of the firewagon (not official terminology) or at some fancy firefighters event we were clearly not thrilled to have been dragged along to. In hindsight, getting to hang out in the appliance bay (official terminology) was cooler than most playgrounds, so I’m not mad about these.
6. You’ve grabbed a cheeky lift in the fire-engine at one time or another
I’m not sure if this is one I should admit to - let’s be clear, this absolutely has never occurred whilst on the way to an emergency situation. However, yes, I have saved myself a walk or two over the years by hopping in the back of the cabin if the crew happened to pass by on the way back to the station. Perks.
7. You have an above-average ability to identify any emergency siren.
Something that is definitely more of a party trick, than a CV-worthy skill, but when you spend so many years playing “guess the siren” you do develop somewhat of a heightened awareness. You also become less likely to jump at the sound of a siren as it passes by. I wouldn’t say they were comforting per se, but there’s definitely a certain familiarity.
8. Burned BBQ food became an even more hilarious irony.
I’m not sure what used to be funnier, the fact that my ex-fire-officer Grandad would burn the food at every family BBQ we ever had, or that he didn’t tend to see the irony of it. Another one of my favourite paradoxes is that, despite decades of putting out fires and educating the community on fire safety, he used to love nothing more than spending weekends with us building bonfires in the back garden and, on sunny days, teaching us how to burn holes in pieces of paper using a magnifying glass.
And no, in case you were wondering - I never “wanted to be a firefighter when I grew up” (sorry Dad!).
Written by Molly Williams
Hello! I’m Molly - or ‘Moll’ to most. I’m a 26-year old, originally from Devon, currently living in Bristol. I work full-time in social media marketing, but I am also a qualified personal trainer. It's this knowledge which I now use to inform my writing, where I try to share a slightly different, more positive, approach to fitness and wellbeing.