Dual police role for fireman Dan

He is a full-time firefighter in the Black Country but also spends hours a week volunteering with West Midlands Police as a special constable.

When he was a teenager Dan successfully applied to join both emergency services, although the childhood ambition of being a fireman won through.

However, he never lost his desire to be part of the police and has been a volunteer special on top of his day job for the last six years.

He dedicates up to 12 hours a week which fits in between his firefighter role.

Dan said: "When I was 18 I applied for both the police and fire service and was lucky enough to be successful with both applications.

"It was a close call but as a child I'd always dreamed of being a fireman so chose that career route - but I was still interested in police work so was offered the chance to be a special constable and fit my tours of duty around my work schedule. It's a great balance for me.

"I have been a special constable for six years. I served at West Bromwich for my first year, two years at Wednesbury and a further three in Wolverhampton and now at Bilston."

Dan, from Walsall, has been on jobs as a special and bumped into fire colleagues who are unaware of his extra role.

"I've attended several fires where police assistance was needed to set up cordons and some road traffic collisions where I've helped manage traffic flow whilst fire crews free victims and recover vehicles," he said.

"I've surprised and confused a few fire colleagues - ones who didn't know about my police volunteering - when I've turned up at scenes in my police uniform."

As if a combined emergency service role is not enough he also does charity work and is an ambassador for Birmingham Children's Hospital. Dan has also signed up to do TV acting.

"Our fire service shift pattern is four on four off…so my rest days are ample time to fit in police volunteering, charity work…and a bit of support acting," he said.

"I'm signed up with an agency that supplies the BBC so if you see someone who looks like me on Doctors every now and again, then yes that is me."

He insisted he still enjoys the dual positions. "I can't think of anything I dislike about both jobs…except maybe having to shave every day I'm on duty as a fire officer, but it's safety critical."

During his official job he is currently based at Walsall fire station. But has also been at Wednesbury and Cradley Heath during his seven years with the service.

With the police he is part of the community action priority team at Bilston, which involves tackling emerging issues and assisting operations.

He has been involved in drug raids, search warrants, and shifts with emergency response crews. He worked during the Olympics and was also on duty during the 2011 riots.

He says knowledge of both roles comes in handy. "I've attended countless road traffic collisions as a firefighter so my knowledge of crash scenes and consideration of the hazards come to the fore when deployed at such incidents as a special," he said.

"On the flip side, when attending fires we believe are suspicious having knowledge of scene preservation gained through the police comes in handy so potentially crucial evidence isn't lost or contaminated.

"Both services react with utmost urgency with the sole aim of helping people in need, whether that's rescuing someone from a burning building or taking a dangerous criminal off the street."

Dan said both play an important role in keeping the community safe. "I hear moans and groans about the emergency services - but from my experience of both they are made up of predominantly dedicated, professional people who are passionate about the role.

"Police cuts means resources are more stretched than perhaps they were but officers I know never stop and it's job after job after job.

"But not only that, the incidents they attend, without a second's thought is bravery at its highest order. People say my job is heroic and brave, and yes that is true when we're called upon.

"But the role of a police officer is without a shadow of a doubt as brave and heroic as ours."