Fasting on the Frontline with Firefighter Waleed Iqbal

One of our brilliant WMFS firefighters Waleed Iqbal was featured as part of a special four-minute programme aired tonight (Tuesday 4 May) on BBC’s The One Show.

Entitled ‘Fasting on the Frontline’ the programme follows a day in the life of Muslim, Waleed, as he observes Ramadan (12 April – 11 May).

Crew Commander Waleed has been a firefighter at Hay Mills fire Station for the last 15 years. Known amongst his colleagues as ‘Wal’, he has been observing Ramadan since he was ten-years-old.

Over the years, Waleed has learned to carefully balance his religious duties such as fasting/praying, with the inevitable challenges and physical demands that being a firefighter can bring.

After 15 years in the role, Waleed says his favourite part of the job is attending incidents and helping the community especially when crews have genuinely made a difference to someone’s life/day.

Married with four children, Waleed lives and works in his local community which he is proud to serve every single day.

Outside of work, Waleed enjoys playing cricket, being in the gym, poetry, listening to Bob Dylan, playing guitar and watching movies.