‘Alright Jimmy lad, the Fire Bobbies are here’ Fire Bobbies what an odd term ! What does it mean? Bobby is of course an informal term for a Police Constable which is derived from Sir Robert Peel, the founding father of modern Policing. Bob or Bobby is a shortened form of Robert. But what has this got to do with the Fire Brigade? Many early professional Firefighting services were performed by Police Constable in dual roles. One of the earliest Police Fire Brigades was formed in Liverpool in 1836.