A FORMER Bradford rugby player turned firefighter has won a national award.
Despite suffering from prostate cancer in recent times, Tony Firth has worked for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) since 1977.
After suffering hearing loss, Tony's career almost finished in 2003 but he was determined to remain in the service and quickly snapped up another role as a Fire Prevention Officer.
It was a horrific house fire involving the death of two young children that gave Tony, a father of two and grandfather of seven, the determination to do everything possible to ensure it didn’t happen again.
He said: “As a firefighter, you are called out to some awful situations, but one that really affected me was in the 1990s.
“The fire had started in the children’s bedroom and I was one of the firefighters that went into the house wearing protective gear and breathing apparatus to save them.
"When we brought them out the two girls, aged two and five, weren’t alive. It was then I decided I would work as hard as I could to try and make sure this never happened again.”
Last week, Tony was acknowledged at an award ceremony for the fire prevention work he has carried out over the last 15 years.
The ex-firefighter, who was born in Africa and has lived in Leeds since he was seven, won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the National Fire Chiefs Council’s Celebrating Prevention Awards 2022.
Since WYFRS started their Safe and Well visits in 2016, Tony has managed 5,942 high-risk cases and performed 3,651 home high-risk intervention prevention visits.
He has also safeguarded over 90 vulnerable and at-risk individuals.
“I love my job, especially the camaraderie of the team,” said Tony, who used to play semi-professional rugby in Bradford.
“I really enjoy working in the community – talking to people and helping them.
"It was about thirty years ago that I learnt basic sign language and that means I can help fit special alarms for deaf people.
"I joined the fire service 45 years ago, when I was 22, and I have no plans to retire."
He added: "It was fantastic to win the award – a night that I will always remember.
"However, the best part of the job for me is working at the fire station in Leeds and visiting people to make sure they are safe.”
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