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The suicide attack, which killed 22 people, took place as fans left an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017.

"I was actually just deployed down on the outskirts of the arena that night to do cordon control, so I didn't really go in on the night. The day after, I was working quite closely with one of the families," Parmar, 33, told BuzzFeed News.

It was speaking to the mother of one of the victims that encouraged him to leave the police and fulfil his childhood ambition of becoming a firefighter.

"She made me promise her that I'd apply and follow my dreams. She said, 'Look, life's too short, look what's just happened to us.'"