Former firefighter and police officer Colin Kirkham has put his experiences to the page in his new book For the Love of Fire.

The book covers his working career, beginning with his time at Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Service, where he served for 14 years.

He then moved to the Isle of Man to raise his children with his wife, who is from the island. As no jobs were originally available with the Fire Service here, he initially worked for the Isle of Man Constabulary, before he moved back to the Fire Service on the island where he ended his career in 2016 as a Station Officer.

The inspiration for the book came from his son, who studied geography at university before deciding to follow in his fathers footsteps, joining the fire service in Tyne and Wear.

’One day last year he phoned me up and said "Dad, every station I go to, somebody has a story about you, you should write them down." So the plan was just to jot things down and give it to the three kids,’ said Colin.

’So during lockdown last year, I sat in the garden writing away and before I knew it I had a stack of notes together, and overall I had [about] 89,000 words.’

His wife then suggested he produce a book, and after gaining some impartial positive feedback, the rest was history.

The book covers a number of notable incidents, both in the island and in Tyne and Wear, including his involvement in a case with a serial killer called Steven Grieveson in Sunderland.

He has tried to give a balanced view of life as both a Police Constable and Firefighter with a number of witty stories being told as well as traumatic incidents faced by both services.

The book is available both on Amazon and in bookshops now, and copies are being held in stock at Lexicon Book shop in Strand Street.