To mark the 10 year anniversary of the London 7/7 terrorist attacks, HuffPost UK is running Beyond The Bombings, a special series of interviews, blogs, in-depth features and exclusive research reflecting on how Britain has changed since.
A firefighter has discussed his memories of the 7/7 London bombings as the 10th anniversary of the attack approaches. Stephen Hockin reflected upon the people he helped rescue and the people he was unable to save.
Describing the scale of the tragedy, Hockin said: "It was like attending every incident I've ever attended all in one call"
The attacks saw four suicide bombers strike central London on Thursday 7th July 2005, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770.
The bombs went off to co-ordinate with the rush-hour traffic and hit underground trains near Edgware Road and Liverpool Street stations.
The attack also hit a train traveling between King's Cross and Russell Square and a double-decker bus was hit in Tavistock Square.
Hockin was based at Edgware Road station and described his arrival at the scene: "We could see streams of people coming out, [they had] soot on their face, cuts, bruises and some broken limbs. You could tell something very serious was happening."
"A paramedic came up from the tube and said 'Guys you really need to get down there - people are dying, you need to come down and help'".
The memorial in Hyde Park commemorating the victims of the July 7, 2005 London bombings
The London Fire Brigade Watch Manager went on to describe what it was like when he got underground: "It was just the sound of people screaming and pouring out, a lot of people were just dazed and confused"
"There was metal and people trapped and there was also lots of fire. I didn't feel like I was under pressure, I felt quite proud of what I did".
Fire Brigade Union general secretary Matt Wrack spoke about the contribution of the firefighters in the 7/7 attacks in the FBU magazine and said:
“Each organisation should be proud of their employees who, when presented with an uncertain, complex and traumatic set of circumstances did all that they could to ensure that lives were saved.”
Related on HuffPost:
An exclusive poll for The Huffington Post UK has found that since the 7/7 attacks more than half of Britons now regard Muslims as a threat, which is far more than in the immediate aftermath of the bombings a decade a go.
ON THE BLOG:
How was Britain impacted by the 7/7 bombings? Join the @HuffPostUK conversation on Twitter with #BeyondTheBombings