AFTER 42 years of battling blazes, saving lives, houses and even rescuing parrots from trees, popular Pewsey firefighter Vince Kimber is retiring from the service.

The 65-year-old, of The Crescent in Pewsey, has experience the highs and lows of the job. From seeing the relief on people’s faces when he and his colleagues save a house from going up in flames to the devastation of people dying.

“It is a challenging job,” he said. “But you cannot beat seeing how grateful people are. You might lose a house, but a house can be replaced.”

The father-of-three and grandfather-of-eight, has been called to‘every job you can think of', fallen through a thatched roof and seen the profession change, most recently with the merger of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service with Dorset.

On Monday, he worked his last shift and was given a trophy by his team and awarded with his certificate of service by Simon Routh-Jones, who is chief fire officer and CEO of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Routh-Jones said it was one of the longest service awards he had presented and was overwhelmed by the time and dedication Mr Kimber had given. Firefighter Gavin Farr was also presented with his service award for his 12 years in the profession.

Mr Kimber, who is a parish councillor too, is taking a well-earned holiday next week to Lanzarote with his wife Sue. But he is not abandoning the fire service completely and will continue visiting people’s homes to offer advice on fire prevention. His son Justin, 40, is also crew manager at Marlborough Fire Station.

“I am ready to retire now,” he added. “It has been more of a challenge to my wife bringing up my three kids at the same time and I have always said they serve as well as much as we do.”

Pewsey Fire Station is looking to recruit more on-call fire crew. Those interested can go to the station on North Street on Mondays from 7pm to 9pm or apply online.