| Bernard Rockcliffe during his firefighting daysBy Michael Jordan“I so loved the job that I think that only death couldhave dragged me out of it. The primary job of afirefighter is to save lives and property and renderhumanitarian assistance. That is one of the reasonsthat I went the extra mile to help those in trouble.”Sixty-seven-year-old Bernard Compton Rockcliffe would not be exaggerating in claiming to have literally gone through fire and water to earn a living. He’s been singed, he’s been hit by bolts of electricity,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, he’s been almost roasted alive, and nearly crippled during a distinguished 23-year career as a firefighter.But if you ask him if it was all worth it,Cheap Soccer Jerseys, he’ll tell you that he would go through it all over again, if it enables him to be of service to others.“I don’t consider myself as being a hero,” the recipient of The Disciplined Services Medal for Meritorious Service (DSM) said. “I love helping people. I get so much satisfaction out of knowing that I can help someone who is in trouble.”‘Bunny’ Rockcliffe, as he’s known to close friends, was born on July 5, 1943, and grew up at Regent and King Streets in Georgetown. He attended St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School before moving on to St. Stanislaus College and Tutorial Secondary.After leaving school, he attended the Government Technical Institute before gaining employment at Bookers Shipping.But even as a boy,Wholesale Cheap Jerseys China, he was fascinated by firefighters.“Your parents would ask ‘what you want for Christmas,China Jerseys Wholesale, and you would say a fire-engine. I would see fire-engines screaming down the road and would wonder how it would feel to be on one of them.”His dream came true in 1965 when Chief Fire Officer Mr. Victor Spellen, who knew him, suggested that he could embark on a career in the British Guiana Fire Service. He accepted, and became a trainee firefighter on January 3, 1966.“It (the training) was much more than we thought,” he recalled. “That was when I learned how important the job was. There was so much to learn on the theoretical side. You learn first aid, you learn about electricity, aircraft, hydraulics, marine work…even if you are in the job for 40 years, you can’t learn everything.”And it was during this three-month training stint that the 23-year-old Rockcliffe got his ‘baptism of fire.’“We usually did our practical training at Industrial Site, near to Kissoon’s Furniture Complex. We had exams coming up and on that day we decided to stay in class and study. But while we were in the classroom our training officer told us to pick our things up and join the vehicle, because there was a fire at Kissoon’s Furniture Complex.He recalled that they were confronted by an inferno which was fuelled by a variety of flammable materials like wood, paint and oil. They were no match for the flames and the complex was burnt flat.“The heat (at a fire) is unbearable. No matter how good you are the heat gets to you.“That was the ‘early baptism’. We worked with the regular firemen. Somehow I wasn’t scared. I was the adventurous kind of youngster, and I got to like it (the job) even more.”He was also at the scene of an even more devastating fire, when a soap factory in Charlestown and over 15 other buildings went up in flames. “I was on vocational leave then. Quite a lot of the big fires that I went to, happened when I was on leave or off duty.”“I was also at the fire at Middle and Thomas Streets (near Dr. Cunningham’s home) when about 15 buildings burned.”He had his first narrow escape in 1977, during a fire at the wharf at the Guyana Rice Marketing Board.“That was a real challenge. I arrived at the scene at around five in the afternoon, and worked until next day. Some of the flames were below the wharf. There were steel plates at the top of the wharf, which were preventing us from getting to those flames.”Rockcliffe led two other firemen into a burning bond, which was stacked with plastic bags. He did not see the hole in the floor of the bond.“I stepped into a hole and my foot got stuck. There was fire all around.”Luckily, his two comrades managed to haul him to safety. “If the boys had not been around it would have been disastrous.”After the fire raged for about two days,Wholesale Cheap Jerseys, the area had to be dynamited to put an end to the blaze.He was nearly killed again while helping battle a conflagration in America Street in the seventies.During the fire there was an explosion, and everybody scattered and left me holding the nozzle of the hose. If you loose the nozzle it can strike and kill people, and when you have a lot of people around you have to be extra careful.“I was left alone with the nozzle and it (the pressure of the hose) threw me into a gutter and pinned me, but I had to hold on for dear life.“Two Norwegians and a fireman assisted me in getting out of the gutter.”Being greeted by the late President Cheddi Jagan and former First Lady Janet Jagan, shortly after being awarded the Disciplined Services Medal.The late Chief Fire Officer Harold Norton was in charge then, and Mr. Rockcliffe recalled that the Fire Chief was determined that the inferno would not consume all the buildings in the area.“The fire was coming towards us, and Harold Norton sent me and Jagdeo Singh (anther fireman) into a house with two hoses. He said ‘I don’t want the fire coming further than that house…if the fire passes that house you two have to be dead,’ and the two of us stopped that fire.”There are a number of officers that I had a lot of respect for. I got a lot of inspiration from them, and they apparently had a lot of confidence in me.“I so loved the job that I think that only death could have dragged me out of it. The primary job of a firefighter is to save lives and property and render humanitarian assistance. That is one of the reasons that I went the extra mile to help those in trouble.”He remembers with a mixture of satisfaction and anger the time he was called on to save a baby’s life.That happened when a woman from Charlestown went to the market, leaving her one-year-old son home alone and tied to a dining room table. While she was out shopping, a fire broke out near her residence. The flames were threatening to spread to her home when Rockcliffe and another fireman broke into the house and rescued the terrified infant.But back then, firefighting was more than just racing from one fire to another. The Fire Service was linked to the Guyana Fire Service and on at least four occasions, Rockcliffe found himself assisting in delivering newborns.On one occasion, too, he joined his colleagues in carrying water to drought-stricken farming communities.But in 1989, a serious injury nearly curtailed his career. He had gone to the Fire Station club while on vocational leave when a call came in about a fire in New Market Street.“The Deputy Chief Fire Officer and another officer needed to go to the scene but they had no driver, so they asked me to take them there in a small land-Rover type vehicle. I was driving near Carmichael Street when I got into a serious accident. I fractured a shoulder, my hip and had to undergo surgery for spinal injuries. That slowed me down for a number of months, but I was determined to get back on my feet. It took me about six months to get back to active duty.”Rockcliffe was promoted several times during his career, and served as Divisional Commander for Berbice from 1993 to 1994.“Of the ranks that myself and (retired fire official) Carl Rogers trained, two became Chief Fire Officers, one became Deputy Chief Fire Officer; three were Divisional Officers and another three Station Officers.” He also trained ranks from the Joint Services.In recognition of his exemplary career, the late President Cheddi Jagan awarded Bernard Rockcliffe the Disciplined Services Medal in 1996.The curtain came down on his career two years later. But he still keeps in touch with his colleagues and at present serves as the Public Relations Officer of the Ex-Firefighters Association.“Summing up his career,Cheap Air Max 270 Womens, he said: “I am pleased with the progress I made and the assistance I received from a number of senior officers. If I had the opportunity, I would do this all over again.” |
