STRANGE isn’t it. Whenever you see a story of a fire rescue, it’s the person who has been saved who is in the picture.

If it’s a pet, human nature being what it is, the picture will be twice as big.

It’s quite rare to see the firefighter who rescued them, though there may be a couple of their quotes buried at the bottom of the story.

The press are often labelled “fire engine chasers”, but this is one instance when the object of their attention keeps one step ahead.

Some people take the fire service for granted, but I don’t think we all do. Most of us know that they are expected to perform the kind of heroics that would have the rest of us quickly opting for a quieter life. But none of us could imagine life without a fire service, because it is a bedrock of the community, one of what I call the non-negotiables.

When there’s a fire in a house or factory, you don’t convene a meeting to decide what to do, you don’t debate the options. You make that call. You do that because you feel like you do if you are the victim of serious crime – very vulnerable, very afraid and desperate for someone to help you.

These thoughts were in mind when I visited the firefighters of Red Watch at Middlesbrough fire station. It was an unplanned visit. I just wanted to say thank you to them, to say that while they might not always be in the picture, their work is much appreciated.

That work, of course, consists of more than the rescues and firefighting that hit the headlines. It is about safety at home and at work and on the roads and streets. It is about the preventative work that reduces risk and maximises the fire service’s scarce resources for the real emergencies.

Another reason for my visit was to follow up a briefing I received from Ian Hayton, Cleveland’s chief fire officer, about the financial challenges that the service faces. No single public service in our region is immune from the cuts.

Cleveland faces a reduction of about 25 per cent in Government support, £8m over four years, and could lose about 130 jobs. Its plans for a £31m upgrade for seven fire stations have also been knocked back.

Cuts like this convince me that the coalition Government isn’t just being ruthless when it comes to the public sector. It is being reckless with public safety – and that should be non-negotiable.

The Cleveland area contains the biggest concentration of chemical and petro-chemical operations in western Europe. As a policeman, I attended enough hazardous chemical incidents on and off-site to know the level of expertise – and the speed – with which you must respond in this environment.

Like everyone else in charge of essential public services in the North-East, I am sure Ian Hayton will manage the cuts and will continue to ensure that everyone living and working here goes about their daily routine safely. We’ll carry on pretty much as we do now, never giving the work they do a second thought.

We’ll do that, of course, until the time comes when one of us is unfortunate enough to have to make that emergency call.

In that moment it doesn’t matter if you are a millionaire – like the people who say that these cuts are essential – or just one of the masses.

You will want someone there instantly to take the fear and the danger away. You will get them, of course, but just imagine for a moment if one day the phone rang out and no one answered your call.