THE county’s fire and rescue service has marked 75 years saving lives across Essex with a special commemorative event.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service celebrated the milestone anniversary will an event at the Essex Fire Museum on Friday.

It allowed visitors to see first hand how firefighting has changed over the last three-quarters of a century.

The museum houses a collection of historic fire engines, firefighting equipment, uniforms and photographs.

The 75th anniversary marks the creation of Essex County Fire Brigade (ECFB) in 1948 after the National Fire Service (NFS) was abolished.

Dan Bailey, heritage and volunteer manager at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, said: “It’s such a proud day for us as a service to recognise 75 years of serving the people of Essex and a real pleasure to be able to host the celebration at the Essex Fire Museum.

“The museum was originally based on former Grays Fire Fighter Roger Pickett’s own collection of memorabilia.

“Now expanded through donations and loans, it provides a fascinating journey through the history of firefighting in Essex.”

When the ECFG was created, it was made up of six divisions each with its own divisional control staffed by ‘firewomen’, who are now known as control officers.

There were 65 fire stations and crews worked 60-hour weeks.

Fleet workshops were set up in Lexden and began maintaining many ex-wartime NFS vehicles which were painted from grey to red.

In the past seven decades, ECFRS has seen a huge amount of change and, most notably, has led the way for changes in protective personal equipment and uniform.

In 1985 the Essex County Fire Brigade was renamed to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, to acknowledge the service not only existed to extinguish fires but to rescue people too.

Mr Bailey added: “Our museum volunteer team are unsung heroes of our service.

“They support at events, carry out research and help to maintain the museum to improve the experience for visitors.

“They've carried out a considerable amount of research into the history of the fire service, particularly in Essex, and it’s thanks to their hard work that we’re able to look back over the last 75 years and see how things have changed.”