TONY McGuirk remembers the car accident that almost killed his twin brother as if it was yesterday.

The Ramsbottom pair, who played in the local brass and school bands and did everything together, including training as firemen, were almost separated forever at 21 when Steve was involved in a head-on car collision in Bury caused by a drunk driver, who died at the scene.

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In a strange twist of fate, it was Tony’s fire service colleagues who cut his brother free from the wreckage and ultimately saved his life.

Both boys, who are now 55, were attending a party, but Steve had decided to drive, whilst Tony had opted for a taxi with his friends.

“I got a call from the police asking me to come to the hospital because my brother had been involved in a car accident,” says Tony. “It was a very challenging time for all the family, especially Steve, because his injuries were serious.

“For me as a twin it was hard seeing him go through a really tough rehab and not being able to do anything to help him. The Fire Service’s physical standards are very high and he had to really battle hard to get back to full fitness. We both enjoyed being in the same career and that was under threat. I was really proud of him for getting through it.”

Steve’s injuries involved having his jaw wired and Tony remembers the day they were taken off.

“After the crash he couldn’t eat properly for a time and I’d had no appetite either. Then I woke up absolutely ravenous one morning. I only found out later that Steve’s jaw wires had been removed and he was able to eat properly for the first time.”

The brothers’ entire lives have been lived in tandem. Their dad, Bert, had a butcher’s shop in Ramsbottom and both went to St Joseph’s primary, where their mum was asked to sew their initials on their jumpers so that teachers could tell them apart.

They both gained scholarships to Thornleigh College in Bolton. Neither wanted an academic career like their elder brother Peter, who studied law at Oxford. So they joined Greater Manchester Fire Service’s junior fireman scheme at 16, in 1976.

Steve was stationed at Bolton and Tony at Bury. By the 1980s one had moved to Berkshire and the other to Buckinghamshire fire services. Steve, who now lives in Warrington, went on to the West Midlands, then Cheshire, where he became chief for 10 years, finally becoming Greater Manchester‘s chief fire officer five years ago. He retired this year.

After Buckinghamshire, Tony went on to Essex and eventually Merseyside in 1996 where he became chief in 2001. He retired in 2011.

Both have received the Queen’s Fire Service medal and CBEs. Steve was awarded his in 2006 and Tony in 2011, making them the first identical twins in history to receive the awards, as Prince Charles mentioned on the day.

“At one level there’s been a sense of competition,” says Steve. “We have both pushed each other and as a result we were both successful. We’ve had wonderful careers and we’ve both been very privileged to have served in the Fire Service. We lost our elder brother Peter, some years back, so it’s nice having a twin.”

“We are very different personalities but we have a similar sense of humour. We laugh at the same things, but that’s possibly because we’ve shared the same career and had some good times along the way.”

But it can cause issues, both professionally and personally, according to Tony: “A friend of mine who has never met Steve saw him walking out of a foreign airport with his wife and was convinced that I was having an affair. When you see us together there are some differences, he has a slightly slimmer face and my hair is more grey, but when people see us apart they get confused. We can pass for each other on the phone.”

So have they ever taken advantage of that fact? “Over the years there’s been the odd joke, but I’d prefer to keep that quiet. Some people don’t know they’ve been pranked,” laughs Steve.

But confusion arose once again when both brothers had to give evidence as Fire Service personnel at a Select Committee.

“The stenographer attributed the wrong evidence to the wrong twin, so that technically is quite a big deal because they need accuracy.

“The minutes of the Select Committee meeting are published. But it wasn’t until they were published that I noticed the mistake. But we couldn’t change it unless we went to the Houses of Parliament,” says Tony.

Newspapers too often use pictures of the wrong twin. “I’ve had to speak to a few editors,” he laughs.

The brothers both have two children and were married within a year of each other to two friends, Julie and Sandra.

“It’s a small world Ramsbottom,” says Tony, who now lives in Formby. “The girls were already friends. It was Steve’s first date with Julie when he had the car accident.

“I met Sandra when I was visiting him in hospital. I used to pop down to see Julie, because she was in hospital for a time too, and that’s when I met Sandra because she was visiting Julie.”

No wonder those teachers were confused.