Proudly serving those who serve

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20 March 2026

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Vintage: Some British Fire Service history in Johannesburg

​In 1981 the Johannesburg Fire Department in South Africa ran campaign designed to recruit a number of British firemen to join their ranks. Being young, newly married with no children it sounded like an exciting adventure. I applied and was one of those chosen along with about a dozen or other guys. We were offered a five-year contract with a relocation package to move to South Africa. This move was a hell of a contrast to firefighting in the UK, in this era before apartheid was abolished everything that you saw on the news in the early 80s including township riots and civil unrest we were in the middle of, the pay was not the best but the perks made up for it, most of us lived in free accommodation in the fire stations within the city and the suburbs, some stations more modern than others offered quite enhanced apartments or townhouses. The picture featured shows me on the far right with my South African colleagues at Berea Fire Station, this was located in the Hillbrow District of the city. I am willing to bet that one or two of my ex colleagues are on this site, if so it would be great to hear from you again. Source: Andy Moore, British Fire Service History

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