A NEW website has been launched this week allowing visitors to explore 100 years of the fire service.

The site forms part of plans to mark the centenary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).

Features include a timeline of major events in the FBU’s history, as well as the union’s response to some of the most devastating fires in the UK.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, said: “In our centenary year, we want to celebrate the work of firefighters and the FBU who over ten decades have shaped the modern fire and rescue service and have, immeasurably, improved public safety.

“Far fewer people die in fires today than 100 years ago. This is not a happy accident – it is a result of the union and its members campaigning relentlessly for changes over the last century.

“The FBU wants the centenary website to become a hub for fire service history.”

Visit www.fbu.org.uk/centenary