Vulcan Fire Training. The inspirational story behind a business that’s now in its 30th year.
8th June 2023
As we celebrate our 30th anniversary we take a closer look at Graham Holloway, the brave man who established Vulcan and the journey he took to shape the company as we know it today. A lot has happened during the past 30 years, not least of all the 2020 pandemic, which provided us with new opportunities for remote, online learning, in addition to our face to face training courses. In this blog we take a closer look at the inspiration behind the business, and the role that Graham’s son Robert has played in driving forward Vulcan following his father’s passing away in 2019.
So, let’s go back to the beginning. Vulcan Fire Training was founded in 1993, 30 years ago this year, by Graham Holloway. Graham joined the Fire Service at 16 years of age in 1964 as a Junior Fireman. He rose through the ranks to Assistant Divisional Officer with the London Fire Brigade (LFB). On 6th October 1985 he attended an out-of-control fire in a supermarket in the middle of the infamous Broadwater Farm Riots. He and his colleagues were stoned by a mob of 30-40 and shockingly witnessed the killing of a police officer and injury of another. For his outstanding bravery, Graham was awarded the LFB Chief Officer’s Commendation.
Graham Holloway, Founder
How our 9-day Fire Manager Course came into being
In the 90s, following his retirement from the Brigade, Graham joined the Saudi Aramco Oil Company as a Battalion Chief and spent 3 years working in Saudi Arabia as the Gulf War started. Whilst working in the Middle East he honed his computer skills and created training materials for the firefighters, hospitals and other parties within the Aramco complex.
Also, during this time, he created the 9-day Fire Manager Course for the UK as there was nothing on the market which delivered fire safety management training in its own right. He returned to the UK and delivered the Fire Manager Course via two large Health & Safety training providers. After several years of working for these organisations, Graham became independent running the courses via his own company, Vulcan Fire Training. Although slow at first, the courses gained popularity and Vulcan Fire Training is now in its 30th year.
Sadly, Graham passed away in September 2019 after a prolonged illness. However, he was pleased and proud that Robert, after 9 years in the business, carried on the Vulcan Fire Training Managing Director role.
COVID and the emergence of online learning
As for many companies, 2020 and the effects of the Covid lockdowns proved challenging for Vulcan. Boldly, Robert took advantage of technology and the ‘working from home’ trend and started offering the Vulcan courses online. The public online courses have been so successful that they continue to run alongside the traditional venue-based courses which were re-introduced in 2021.
Due to the numerous fire safety regulation changes of late, especially since the Grenfell tragedy, Robert works with the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM) to ensure our course offering is current and relevant so Vulcan’s success and reputation is maintained.
A final word from Robert
Robert Holloway, Managing Director
