Warriors in Fire Boots: A Tribute to the Valour of Firefighters tells the stories of some of the countless men and women who have given their efforts, their courage and, all too frequently, their lives in aid of fighting fires.

It pays tribute to the dedication and everyday bravery of fire service members through the years: the ordinary people whose acts of almost unbelievable heroism will amaze and move you.

Warriors in Fire Boots tells how firefighters have battled the flames from Victorian times – when James Braidwood, known as ‘the Father of Firefighting’, brought discipline and innovation to his duties as the first Chief Fire Officer of London before meeting a tragic end – through to the better-equipped but equally selfless rescuers of the twenty-first century.

The book provides a particularly detailed account of the challenges faced during World War II, with the unprecedented horrors of the Blitz and its incendiary bombs.

Also revealed are the role of firefighters in the Dunkirk evacuation and how the Auxiliary Fire Service proved their worth many times over. Peacetime, meanwhile, brought disasters such as Glasgow’s Cheapside Street Fire and the infamous Worsley Hotel fire in London.

Packed with both daring rescues and sobering memorials to lives cut short, Warriors in Fire Boots is an illuminating history of the development of the British Fire Service and an inspiring testament to individual gallantry and sacrifice.