Three generations of the same firefighting family attended an extra special ceremony to mark the graduation of the latest recruit to join the ranks at Askern fire station.

Ellie Adams, aged 23, has became the third generation of her family to serve at Askern, Doncaster after completing her initial training and ‘passing out’ in front of family and friends at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Sheffield training base.

Amongst those watching were Ellie’s dad Steve Adams and grandad Michael Jackson who both served on-call at Askern fire station.

On-call firefighters are paid for their training, for being on-call and for each incident they attend – but they must live or work within a five minute drive of their closest fire station.

Dad Steve, who retires from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue after 35 years’ service later this month, said: “It was an incredibly proud day for the whole family. Firefighting isn’t something we’ve necessarily pushed on Ellie as a family, but as soon as she heard that we were recruiting at Askern fire station she wanted to give it a go. Like the rest of the recent recruits, she’s had to work really hard to complete her initial training, but the way she’s applied herself to it all has made me really proud.”

Ellie’s grandad Michael Jackson joined Askern fire station in 1960 aged 17- combining his firefighting role with a full time job at the nearby colliery. He rose to the rank of sub-officer, before retiring from the fire service in 1981.

He’d been inspired to sign-up by his older brother Fred- a D-Day veteran who joined Doncaster Fire Brigade in 1947, before going on to become Chief Fire Officer in Hong Kong.

Michael is father-in-law to Steve, who began work at Askern in 1987 before becoming a full time firefighter with South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue in 1996. He’s been there ever since, rising to the rank of Group Manager.

Now daughter Ellie has followed in both their footsteps. She joined South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue in September after completing a pandemic disrupted university degree. She’s been working towards completing her initial training, culminating in last week’s ceremony.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is currently recruiting on-call firefighters at Askern, Rossington and Penistone fire station.

For more information on the role of an on-call firefighter or to apply, visit the service’s website here.