A Donington firefighter is retiring this week with 40 years of service under his belt.
Watch manager John Scott has received his ceremonial axe among his leaving gifts to mark the occasion.
Mr Scott will officially leave Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue on Friday after a long career.
“It was an absolute privilege to be able to present John with his axe for his retirement after 40 year service. Such dedication and commitment,” said Chief Fire Officer Mark Baxter.
But the Scott family will still be very much involved as John’s son Shawn is already an on-call firefighter and has applied to take over his dad’s role.
Shawn (32) is a firefighter for the American Air Force at RAF Alconbury and also an on-call for Donington.
But after four decades of responding to call-outs at all times of day, John is happy to be retiring and is looking forward to spending more time with his wife Janette. The couple also have a daughter Jenna.
John (59) retired from door and window manufacturer George Barnsdale four years ago.
Prior to that he worked at companies including Ford and Slater and Scania. He was with W A Burdall garage when he joined the fire service in 1983.
“There were four or five of us there who all belonged to the fire service, the company was very good about it,” he said.
“Technology has changed so much.
“When I started we all wore yellow leg slips and cork-type helmets, that has all changed,” he said.
He added there was still a need for employers to be flexible and allow on call employees to provide an essential service.
Recruiting on-call fire fighters has also been a problem and he urged anyone considering a role to step forward.
Among his leaving presents was a special commemorative display of a fire service helmet (pictured), his dates of joining and leaving and his service medal ribbons.
“I did shed a tear when I saw that,” he said.
