NEIL Mercer combines his day job as watch manager at Bolton Central Fire Station with his passion for sport. A top amateur triathlete in his spare time, over the past few months Neil has also been helping to organise the 10th World Firefighter Games in Liverpool. Wes Wright managed to get him to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk about his life

LONG before most of us stagger blindly from our beds it is likely superfit Neil Mercer will have been up for hours cycling, swimming or running — then he’ll go to work.

His life appears to be a constant juggling act between family, work and sport commitments, but he seems to thrive on it.

Once he has completed a full day’s work as watch manager at Bolton Central fire station he will often stop over at the swimming pool and complete 2,500 metres — just over a mile and a half.

On other days, the 43-year-old firefighter will cycle 35 miles or run nearly 10 miles. This level of training has helped him become one of the best veteran triathletes in the country.

The gruelling triathlon involves three disciplines — swimming, cycling then running — done in sequence.

The standard Olympic triathlon involves a mile-long swim, followed by a 25-mile bike ride and a six-mile run.

Neil, however, prefers the Ironman triathlon — a two-and-half-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26-mile run — which takes him a little over 10 hours.

“I have always been an outdoorsy kind of person,” said Neil.

“When I was younger I did a bit of Moto Cross, then some weightlifting and I’ve always liked cycling.

“In my first job as a firefighter, at Agecroft fire station in Swinton, a colleague asked if anyone was interested in going swimming.

“I realised that I couldn’t swim more than two lengths so I took it from there.

“Eventually, I became interested in triathlons.”

Neil reckons he has completed around 200 triathlons and has noticed more and more older people taking up the sport.

“I am 43 and I have beaten a few younger men in various events, but there are men of 60 and 70 years doing the sport now,” he said.

In addition to work and training, Neil has been busy helping to organise the World Firefighter Games in Liverpool and at venues around the North-west.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service hosted the 10th World Firefighters Games as its contribution towards the city’s celebrations as European Capital of Culture 2008.

Neil put a lot of time and effort into the competition, which featured 73 sporting and unique events held at 43 venues.

The programme included skiing and snowboarding races at the Chill Factore indoor ski slope near the Trafford Centre.

Neil is a mean skier and he had intended taking part in several events at the Chill Factore as well as his main event — the triathlon — which was held at the Anderton Centre in Rivington. Unfortunately, he was so involved in the organisation of the events that he did not have time to compete.

Around 5,000 firefighters travelled from all over the world to take part in the Games, which have been held biannually since 1990.

Neil, who lives in Egerton, went to school at St Joseph Eastham secondary in Little Hulton, before leaving for an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering at GEC in Trafford Park.

Later, he worked at Chloride Lorival and then, at the age of 23, he finally got into the fire brigade.

“Since I was a boy I had a dream of becoming a fireman, but in those days there was a waiting list so I finally got in at the age of 23.

“Nowadays, it’s all different and if you pass all the tests you can get straight in.”

Since his first post at Agecroft, he has gone on to work at stations all around Greater Manchester, including Eccles, Sale, Altrincham, Broughton, Farnworth and now Bolton.

He is now watch manager, formerly known as station commander, at Bolton Central Fire Station in Moor Lane.

Neil is married to Nicola, a beautician, and has two young daughters, Ruby, aged six, and Bella, aged three.

He is due to retire from the fire service in 10 years time, when Neil hopes to settle into a more sedate lifestyle, maybe moving to a country village on the French/Italian border.

“I have been to Italy and France lots of time in competitions and I really like it there.

"I was learning Italian in my spare time until I had an accident on my push bike and I got behind on my lessons. Recently, I have been thinking of taking it up again.”

Over the years, Neil has attended thousands of fires and other incidents, some of which stick in the memory for different reasons. “I remember one funny incident where we were called out to a police station where a young woman had been trying to escape through the serving hatch in her cell door.

“She had broken a rib in the process and was stuck in the hatch when we got there.

"She was very abusive to us and the police while we tried to release her.

“You can imagine how long it took to cut through hardened steel bars in a cell door — we had to use specialist equipment and spent about three hours cutting her free.

“Unfortunately, I have seen many tragic things. I remember we went to a house fire on Christmas Eve where a mother and young baby died.

"It was very suspicious and was investigated for ages, but no-one was ever charged.”

Neil is disturbed by a spate of deliberate wheelie bin fires in Bolton, one of which led to the deaths of a grandmother and granddaughter in Great Lever. The girl’s mother and fellow firefighter Steve Morris were also seriously injured.

“I don’t think these people who start these fires think about the possible consequences of what they are doing," said Neil.

"If a burning wheelie bin is pushed against the front door then that is 50 per cent of the escape exits blocked.

“That’s how people get trapped and die. ”