Description

The International Fire Training Centre near Durham Tees Airport is where hundreds of Fire crews come to train in the various techniques used to put out fires in airports, oil fields, chemical spills etc. Each fire has its own particular method of extinguishing, and crews from around the world come here to get the possible training from these elite instructors. After spending two days watching them train the other crews, the instructors asked if I would like to experience the full force of aircraft fire. Suited up, we stepped into the replica interior of a 747. Everyone drilled and safely in place ,the entire room was engulfed in flames, that seemed to move like a wave across the ceiling and over our heads, just inches above me. An intoxicating and mesmerising experience, and very difficult to shoot with the helmet and gloves on. Working in that heat, with all that weight of the kit itself, plus the breathing apparatus, having to find your way through a hot smoking building is hard, demanding and relentless work. We shot this the week after the Grenfell Tower fire, and it made me realise just how hard those crews must have worked. Tough jobs, both physically and mentally.