This is a statement about my late husband, James Shears, known to his family and friends as Jim.

Jim and I met at Reading University in 1995 when he was 20 and I was 18. We became a couple a year later and have been together ever since.

Our relationship was rock solid. We have two children: Frankie James Shears, now aged 7, and Ruben James Shears, now aged 6.

We live in Poole, Dorset and are very close to both Jim's family, who live nearby, and mine, who live in Essex.

Jim was the eldest of four brothers. Chas, Steven and Gary all looked up to Jim - Jim's dad Ed jokingly numbers the brothers 1-4, claiming he forgets their names. As the eldest and therefore number 1, Jim always joked that he was the 'favourite'.

I called him Half-Job Jimmy because he never finished DIY around the house and my Dad would have to come and crack the whip to encourage him to get on with it.

It was not that Jim was lazy; he was a perfectionist who did not like making mistakes so it took him ages to complete anything to a standard he was satisfied with. In turn, he affectionately referred to me as his pet Rottweiler and nicknamed my auburn-haired sister Ginge.

Jim attained a BSc Honours degree in Biochemistry but never enjoyed his course. He always wanted to be a firefighter but when he was a student, he was under the impression he wasn't tall enough. His second choice of career was forensic science and that's what he was aiming for. However, towards the end of his degree he found out there were no height restrictions for the fire service and became determined to apply.

After leaving university, Jim initially worked as a biochemist but he hated being confined in a lab. He applied to join Dorset Fire and Rescue Service twice and got through to the final stages but both times, his nerves got the better of him in the final interview. Jim then tried Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and prepared for the interview process for hours. This time he was 100% prepared and confident and did not get nervous. His persistence and determination paid off and out of 3,000 interviewees, Jim was selected and he finally succeeded in his dream of becoming a firefighter. He was over the moon and rang everyone to tell them he had got in; we were all so proud of him.

Jim started his training in May 2003. It was a really hot summer and he found it tough training in all the equipment but he didn't complain. Fellow recruits dropped out but he never once talked about doing so himself; the trainers gave them hell but Jim understood why and took it in his stride. Almost immediately after his training was complete and we had attended Jim's passing out ceremony, Jim was posted to St. Mary's, Southampton, which he was pleased about as it was relatively close to home. We went to have a look at the station before his start date so that he knew exactly where it was and would not be late for his first day. He met his new crew mates and although nervous when he went in, they put him at ease and he said they were a really good bunch of lads. When he started, he was always waiting for them to play a prank on him as the new boy but they never did. He fitted in straight away and never looked back. Jim was amusingly competitive with his colleagues and prided himself on being the fittest member of his watch; he practised at home so he would beat the others at weight lifting competitions. He remained at St. Mary's Red Watch for his entire firefighting career.

Jim never spoke much about his job and though I always asked how his shift had been, getting him to talk about his working day was like drawing teeth. This wasn't because he was unhappy but because when he was at home, he was a family man and wanted to devote his attention to us; he was just 'dad' to the boys and 'Jim' to me. Jim made the most of his shift pattern to be a really hands-on dad. He did as many of the school runs as me and knew all our sons' friends and their parents. He got involved with the school, going along as a parent helper on school trips and giving talks on fire safety. He doted on his brothers' children as well as our own. He never looked on it as a duty or a chore - he simply loved being with them.

Aside from work and family, Jim's biggest interest was his lifelong hobby, judo. He entered his first competition at the age of 6 and was supported all the way by his dad Ed who has been to every single fight he entered, which amounts to thousands. He reached black belt 2nd Dan and his dad encouraged him to go for 3rd or 4th Dan but his response was “there's no point - the belt doesn't get any blacker”. Jim was a gold medallist at the World Firefighter Games twice, university champion, achieved gold, silver and bronze medals at the National Championships and represented Great Britain in Spain. His dad says he 'basks in Jim's reflected glory' and we are all so proud of his achievements. Jim was keen to nurture others' interest in judo and he became a coach and treasurer of his local club. Every Tuesday evening was judo night. Jim successfully applied for a Lottery grant for the club, which enabled them to buy top of the range equipment and help its continued success. When Frankie turned 5, Jim bought him his first judo suit and could not have been prouder to take him along. He was instrumental in encouraging lots of Frankie's friends to join and his ultimate dream was to one day set up his own judo club.

Jim's other interests included fantasy football, eBay and bargain hunting in charity shops to find things to sell online for a profit. He was in three or four fantasy football leagues and there was always a battle for the TV remote on a Saturday afternoon when the football scores were on and me and the boys wanted to watch Total Wipeout. It was very important to Jim to know if he was 'top of the league'.

Jim was very thrifty and would break out in a sweat if he had to spend money. Jim liked to grow vegetables in the garden and he and the boys out voted me three to one to buy some chickens. He saved four battery hens and bought them home for eggs. He was pleased to save them from a terrible life and it was an added bonus to Jim that they were also cheaper than buying hens from a breeder. He even tried to make money out of them by selling the eggs to neighbours; the pounds had to go in a pot and nobody was allowed to take any out because Jim wanted to see how much profit he made at the end of the year. The eggs paid for the chicken feed and the eBay paid for our annual holiday. He always had some money making idea on the go and used to pinch the catch phrase off Del Boy “this time next year babe, we'll be millionaires”.

Jim's priorities in life were his family, judo and the brigade. Anyone who knew him loved him. He was at the heart of everything he did and our lives will never be the same again without him. He wasn't a saint and wouldn't want to be portrayed as one but he was our hero in every way.

We miss Jim enormously and we know that nothing can bring Jim and Alan back, but from this enquiry we as a family would like to see lessons learnt and measures put in place to prevent this tragedy ever happening again. We would also like to find out if Jim and his colleagues had adequate training and equipment to deal with such complex fires as that of Shirley Towers, this would satisfy a lot of unanswered questions.