His 31-year career saw him serve at all the fire stations in Tower Hamlets, rising first to training officer and then station officer before going on to become station commander and then borough commander for Hackney in 2013. Awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct as a young fireman, he rose steadily through the ranks during his thirty-plus years' service within the LFB. This is covered extensively in my book London Firefighter and having visited Gran Canaria this past week I decided to revisit the story and the scene of the battle.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. He talks about arriving and seeing other people lay on the floor resting after they have been inside the building, at no point does he put down anyone else’s effort. Firefighters don't get as much recognition as they should, and this book highlights that they are the unsung heroes of our emergency services. The book documents his career where he attended some of the most significant incidents to befall London in recent decades. I don’t think they thought I’d end up as a firefighter – I probably didn’t seem intelligent to them.Joining the London Fire Brigade as a cadet at the tender age of sixteen, David Pike was destined to become very much an operational firefighter. There was also a great variety of experiences to show just how varied a fireman’s job is; body recovery, dealing with chemical spills, and working with paramedics during road traffic accidents are just a few examples of jobs that don’t even involve dealing with fire. I was suffering a bit now, and as if reading my mind, Dave pulled back and I pushed up to the nozzle. You’ll share the laughter, the sorrow and adrenaline-filled highs from someone that’s been there, seen that and has the t-shirt!

Outside I got into a taxi, and pointing to the smoke, I told the driver the only words I could think of “fuego” and “bomberos.The book wasn’t focused on just the Grenfell tragedy, there were other incidents, some shocking and extremely saddening including the Croydon Tram crash.

I looked up the street for any spare firefighters; there was one running between the two pumps ensuring they were both pumping an adequate supply of water, and the old German fireman helping where he could. Grenfell changed everything and writing this book is one of the ways he's found to get past what he saw. Blue flashing lights and bright headlamps cleared what little traffic there was on the road that time of night.

Before getting a briefing from the Leading Firefighter he told the young BA firefighter: “Go and sit by Lewisham’s pump. A very special collection of remarkable tales and images edited through his lifes work of loving his job and the people he worked with and those in the communities that he served. The first few chapters focusses on Grenfell before going to on to talk about Edric's life and career in general. Finishing his career as Borough Commander, covering the area of the East end where he grew up and plied his trade, over the course of his career he attended some of the most significant incidents to befall London in recent decades, this is his story.