IF you were to ask a young boy what he would like to be when he grows up, I would hazard a guess that ‘fireman’ would be quite near the top, albeit pipped at the post by Premier League footballer, film star or platinum selling rap artist.

I have never really fancied myself as a fireman, despite the prospect of being able to drive a big red truck and slide down a pole. But recently I was given the chance to test my mettle to see if I could make the grade.

It was all part of a have-a-go evening at Drove Road Fire Station in which locals were encouraged to see what it would be like to be an on-call firefighter. Willing participants were put through their paces by a team of pros who kitted them up and guided them through a series of obstacles.

Needless to say some bright spark at Adver Towers thought it would be hilarious if I took part, which I am convinced was revenge for the time I point blank refused to entertain our assistant news editor’s proposal that I attend tuba lessons on a Saturday morning.

This time, however, the Adver guinea pig dutifully did as he was told.

I arrived at the station at just after 7pm on a Monday evening and was immediately handed my gear, which had me looking like a hi-vis Michelin Man.

Without time even to stop and lament what it was I had got myself into, I was escorted by station manager Lee Brathwaite – a thoroughly nice chap, I might add – to the location of my first challenge: the house of smoke.

In a building the size of a garden shed, an oxygen tank was strapped to my back and the breathing apparatus attached to my face. Before I go on, I must clarify: I am not a man of stature. A mild breeze has been known to knock me off my feet before now. So lumping around a great weight while at all times maintaining the vertical was a challenge in itself.

Once I was ready, Lee led me out of the shed and across the courtyard to a makeshift house still smouldering from a recent fire. It was pitch black inside and the smoke surrounded me like a gas cloak. My hand was placed on a piece of rope attached to the wall and I had to make my way through the house with only the rope to guide me. Some joker had of course littered my path with obstacles, though in a real life situation such things would certainly be encountered.

Clinging to the rope, which zig-zagged off at different angles from room to room, I eventually found my way out of the burning building. My initial euphoria at successfully completing my first challenge without embarrassing myself soon vanished when I had this thought: What if that had been real? What if there wasn’t a rope to guide you, or an encouraging voice just behind. What if you had arrived just before the smoke had consumed the occupants and your ears were thus filled with the screams and howls of a family slowly burning to death? I asked myself if I would have the courage to enter that building for real, the building that at any moment could come crashing down around you. My answer would probably not surprise you.

Still, there was no time to reflect on my own inadequacies.

My next challenge involved using a hose pipe while locking myself to a ladder with my legs. This I did without too much difficulty. I was shown the proper way to hold the hose – not as simple as you’d think – and the safest way to dismount the ladder.

Next up: unravelling a hose pipe and firing it from a standing position. Easy, you might think. Not a bit of it. The hose is extremely heavy and the 50 yards I had to walk with it was far enough. Thankfully, Lee was still encouraging me every step of the way (had he left me to my own devices I may well have downed tools in a huff and marched off to the pub).

My final challenges involved cutting through a car to release a trapped driver after a road traffic collision and undergoing a small obstacle course intended to mimic the first few minutes when emergency crews arrive on the scene of an accident. I had to run in five minutes 45 seconds a 25 metre course while carrying various objects from fire hoses to dumbbells. I managed it, just about, in five minutes three seconds.

Overall it was a fantastic experience. Educational, enjoyable and, I make no bones about it, extremely knackering. Incredibly, I had managed to complete the course with my dignity intact. It also gave me something which I hope will be with me for the rest of my life – that is, a deep and sincere respect for our fire crews. It’s a job I simply would not be able to do; Lee and his team are made of special stuff.

Driving home afterwards an image came to mind that I’m sure is shared by many. The date is September 11, 2001, the location New York City. A forlorn fireman stands amongst the rubble caked in dust, naked amid the carnage and senseless loss of innocent life. It was, as journalist Christopher Hitchens described, as if Charles Manson had been made God for the day. Yet, while most were running away from the collapsing towers, there was a handful of brave people whose job it was to run towards them. And it’s one for which we should extend our gratitude.