Retiring Holloway firefighter George Banks attacks target culture
Published: 10th June, 2011
by PETER GRUNER
A SENIOR Holloway fireman who has just retired after 30 years claims the fire service is now “more about hitting financial targets than saving lives”.
George Banks, 50, former Holloway fire station manager, said he was sad to see the fire service being “reduced” by government cuts.
Mr Banks, a father-of-three who attended Highbury Grove School under legendary headmaster Dr Rhodes Boyson, added: “Being a fireman is still the best job in the world. You risk your life to save your neighbour. But unfortunately firefighting is becoming more of a business than a service.”
He added that there were too many cuts to the service, which was being “mismanaged” by politicians.
“You can’t run a non-profit-making service as a business,” he said. “Firefighters know what they need for the job. But it is all geared to targets rather than saving lives. How can you have targets when you don’t know what calls you are going to get or how many lives are going to be at risk?”
On a personal note, Mr Banks spoke of his pride in his 20-year-old soldier son Simon, just back from fighting in Afghanistan. His Essex regiment has been granted the freedom of Barking and Dagenham.
And he praised his old headmaster, Dr Boyson, who he said inspired him to go into public service in the first place.
“Dr Boyson was a fantastic head and I’m always grateful to him for the way he cared about the kids at the school,” he said. “I came from a single-parent family and my mum was extremely hard up. But Dr Boyson made sure I always looked smart and was punctual and believed in myself.”