It is based upon the testimonies of FBU representatives and members: control staff, officers and wholetime and retained firefighters from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Their accounts capture the lived experience of firefighters in a changing environment. A distinctive feature is the way that the dynamics of gender, race, sexuality and class are woven into the narrative. The book shows how 100 years since its formation in 1918, the FBU continues to be simultaneously part of the fabric of the fire and rescue service and a “politically committed union’.