Sutton has got itself a new borough and station commander in the space of a month. Reporter Jenna Good went to meet the new fire officers who are no strangers to the borough.

Sutton's new top fire chief is no stranger to battling the blaze after all he has been with the brigade for 27 years.

Divisional Officer Arthur Hookway is, at 47, the borough's firefighting premier and arrived to take up his post in Sutton last month.

His deputy is Steven Green a 34-year-old who is newly appointed as station commander for Sutton and Wallington and was formerly a diving instructor.

Together, the two bring a wealth of experience to the borough and a lot of plans for the future.

Officer Hookway's new appointment coincides with that of his son Adam, who launched his firefighting career at the same time in New Malden's red watch, of which his father is extremely proud.

He said: "I am absolutely chuffed he is following in my footsteps because it's the best job in the world.

"To me, it's like being paid very well to carry out a hobby. I get so much job satisfaction as everyday is different."

This is evident from his endless stories; he tells me he was once called to a house where one wall was blown away cause by the reflection of the sun from a shaving mirror onto a deodorant bottle. Apparently the aerosol can acted like a bomb.

"I would advise people to be careful about what they put in sunlight," he says.

His deputy also has many such stories; instead of a shaving mirror the sun's rays hit a crystal ball and reflected onto some records, causing a fire in a vacant flat.

Sun rays were the source of another uncanny incident when Officer Green found himself rescuing a man from under a train during the eclipse.

He said: "It all went dark and we had to get the torches out. The weather is a very important factor in our job and we rely on being updated with regular reports as this will determine how we will react to an emergency.

"If it was freezing, for example, we would have to be careful not to get water all over a road, creating a sheet of ice which could cause accidents."

In addition to his firefighting duties, Officer Green decided to become a driver and was sent on a course to learn how to drive safely at speed.

"Training involved driving a fire engine while an instructor held a key pad which induced skids and other types of obstacles, similar to what you could come across while on the job."

Of course, an occupation like this is not always going to be plain sailing and, as Officer Green explains, sometimes the situation can be quite unpredictable.

"I was blasted through a shop window in Morden after water had got into the electrics and caused a massive explosion. I've recovered from my injuries now, which were luckily quite mild."

Officer Green also talks of the camaraderie felt within the brigade and the informal contact they have had with their comrades in New York.

He said: "I was there 12 weeks before the events of September 11 and brought some memorabilia with me such as t-shirts, as they love that kind of stuff.

"I gave it to the firefighters who were based under the world trade centres and they told me to look after myself. Unfortunately, they were killed in the tragedy."

In a tough, albeit rewarding job, officers have had to deal with many traumatic situations.

Officer Hookway's heroic efforts have included his work on the site of the Purley train crash. But as he recalls his toughest job when he was based at Wallington it is clearly an emotional subject for him.

"We were called to a blazing house and managed to rescue the mother but her young child and baby both died."

As the new borough commander for Sutton, he has a lot of plans for the future.

He said: "The idea is working towards local solutions with the community to enable prevention of accidents rather than cure.

"We are concentrating on lowering fires, deaths, injuries and false alarms.

"Ethnic minorities are one of the groups of people we consider to be most at risk from fire.

"Certain religions can require the use of candles and sometimes we have found things like language barriers a problem."

Officer Green recalls: "Refugees, for example, have been unable to read fire instructions in the building in which thay are staying because they are written in English.

"The signs have now been translated into their own language."

If you would like advice on safety in the home you can call either Wallington fire station on 020 7587 4559 or Sutton fire station on 020 7587 4558.

Officer Hookway would like to stress these numbers should not be called in the event of an emergency.

November 16, 2001 09:34