Meet Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade’s new chief whose three children followed in footsteps as emergency workers

The newly installed chief of Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade (PVFB) has put modernisation at the top of his list of priorities now he has settled into his new role.

Station Commander Anthony Gould officially took up the job in April, stepping into the sizable shoes of former chief Tony De Matteis, who led the brigade for over 40 years.

Anthony, who worked closely with Tony for many years, said that – while he is passionate about maintaining the volunteer fire brigade’s proud heritage – he is keen to “bring the brigade into the 21st century more.”

“The PVFB has been here since 1884,” he said, “some of the rules probably need modernising.”

Anthony believes working even more closely with other services is one of the best way to achieve this aim:“We need to build better relationships with our colleagues at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS),” he acknowledged.

As part of this new approach, Anthony welcomed CFRS Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland to the Volunteers’ HQ on Bourges Boulevard last month to strengthen ties, “share a brew” and discuss how the two services could work together more closely in the future.

Anthony currently has nine firefighters under his command, all of whom – like him – do the extraordinary job they do on an entirely volunteer basis, juggling their heroic blue light endeavours with paid jobs.

‘Runs in the family’

When he isn’t looking after things at the station, husband and dad-of-three Anthony works as an IT manager at Associated British Foods.

He told the Peterborough Telegraph that firefighting is in his blood:

“My brother was a wholetime firefighter and was in the volunteer fire brigade for a brief period - he convinced me to join.

“I put it off for quite a few years but in the end I thought ‘yeah, I’ll have a go’ - and I wish I’d done it sooner.“That was 12 years ago.”

Evidently, Anthony’s penchant for running towards danger has been passed down to his own children: his eldest son and daughter are police officers and his other son is a fulltime firefighter at Dogsthorpe.

“We all attended the same fire incident in the city recently,” he said, proudly: “My son was cordoning the area and my daughter was at the hospital with a casualty.”

Emergency service work, he observes wryly, “runs in the family.”

While much of Anthony’s time is now spent dealing with the considerable admin that goes with being station commander, the new chief is always keen to promote the brigade and raise awareness of fire safety among the general public.

To this end, the new chief and his crew will be hosting an Open Day at their Bourges Boulevard station on Sunday July 30 from 11am to 3pm.

As well as fire engines, stalls and activities, the fun day will also feature a simulator which uses video and audio effects to enable people to experience what it’s like to be part of the crew riding in a fire engine to a ‘shout’.

“It’s quite exciting if you’ve never been in a fire engine before,” Anthony says.

“It’s very immersive.”