AS A follow on to the letter by Allan Charlesworth (The Press, August 14) I would like to add to his reference to the history of the three emergency services, in particular the police and fire service.

Going back to the 1930s the fire brigade was run by the police service, hence the name fire bobbies.

In the mid 1930s large towns and cities formed professional fire brigades, thus separating the two services.

This led to the raising of the 1938 Fire Brigade Act, which was never implemented due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

In 1941 the then Home Secretary Herbert Morrison nationalised the fire service to become the National Fire Service, with a promise that at the end of the war it would be denationalised.

This led to the raising of the Fire Services Act 1947, which was implemented on April 1, 1948. This wasn’t perfect but it laid the foundations for the modern fire service.

For Julia Mulligan to even think of sharing some resources is a big step backwards.

What next? A request for an increase in salary or for added responsibility?

This is a bit of empire building and we all know what happens to empires. They collapse.

Harold Amos, Drummond View, Bishopthorpe, York