'Dyslexia helps me to be a better firefighter'

When Sam Heslop was at school, he never quite felt like he was on the same page as everyone else.

"At school, it was facing north and I was always set to north west," he says. "I was always set in a different direction."

Three decades on, having been diagnosed with dyslexia, Sam is now a successful firefighter who says his condition helps fuel the strengths he brings to the job, including when saving lives.

Growing up, Sam had no idea why he found lessons so challenging and convinced himself that he was the problem.

But his diagnosis at the age of 14 brought answers.

"By then, I'd already gone through a lot at school. I always felt quite out of place," the 40-year-old says.

"Getting a diagnosis was really helping me to understand that it wasn't an issue with me.

"I just didn't have the right setting around me and that was the difference."

Sam has been speaking out about his experience as part of a drive by Dyslexia Sparks, an East Yorkshire-based charity, to raise awareness of the condition.

According to the British Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is a learning difficulty affecting reading and writing skills.

People with the condition may have difficulty processing and remembering information that they see and hear. It can also affect organisational skills.

Sam says dyslexia was not well understood at the time he was diagnosed.

"It was often stereotyped as being stupid," the firefighter explains.

"It's not that you're stupid, it's that the school setting doesn't work for how your brain works."

Years later, after leaving the Navy, Sam found a setting that was right for him.

He was doing a temporary job when a fire broke out at his workplace. When the on‑call fire crew arrived, something clicked.

"I joined the on‑call fire station straight away," he says, his eyes lighting up.

"I thought, this is the best job I've ever done. It's something different every day. It's really exciting."

Becoming a firefighter was not straightforward and he found learning some of aspects of the role hard.

"I had a lot of trouble learning the practical stuff, like IEC [Immediate Emergency Care] – that's a big one to get your head around because it's not firefighting, it's more like first aid."

Even after training, he struggled with radio communications and messaging.

"We have really structured formats we have to follow. This fire engine is zero, eight, pappa, four. It's all coded in a different way."

Sam laughs when speaking about how his colleagues would react to his attempts to repeat this code.

"When I started, it was like: what are you trying to say there mate?

"It did take quite a long time to do things like that."

Sam says he improved through his colleagues' feedback and by listening to how others communicated.

"If you get it wrong, you get about a thousand text messages, so there's that pressure that always helps," he jokes.

He also praises his wife and colleagues for helping him learn and supporting him throughout the process.

"No one can do this job alone," he says. "You need a good family or good colleagues around you."

Sam has spent 14 years as an on-call firefighter and is now a full-time crew manager at East Hull Fire Station.

He says the fire service creates a supportive environment for him to learn in, where colleagues take the time to help him in ways that best suit his learning style.

"I couldn't learn how [school] wanted to teach, whereas, as I've joined the fire service, I've met people who have asked the question, 'how would you like to learn this?'

"I've been able to pick up things a lot better off the back of that."

He believes his condition helps him solve problems by thinking differently.

One example was during a water rescue on the River Hull, when he found a way to light up the pitch-black scene from a different angle.

"It's just the simple things like that," he says. "Dyslexia gives you a lot of creativity.

"Firefighting is open to creative solutions."

Earlier this month, Sam spoke at an event organised by Dyslexia Sparks to promote the fire service's approach to the condition.

A spokesperson for the charity said it had been "hugely positive and inspiring, with children and families leaving feeling excited about their futures".

One parent said: "Both our boy's left inspired and it really resonated that they can achieve great things.

"The short conversation with Sam struck a chord and showed dyslexia will not stop them."

Sam says he has learnt to embrace his condition.

"Your difference can be celebrated and can be something unique to you," he adds. "I'm at that point where I celebrate my difference rather than hide it."

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