A FIREFIGHTER who has spent the last 41 years helping extinguish blazes across Dorset and Wiltshire is hanging up kit for the last time this month.

Crew manager Tom Reid is one of the longest-serving on-call firefighters, having first joined Wareham fire station on December 6, 1983.

His last day is set for Monday, March 31.

Being a firefighter runs in Tom’s blood, as his dad was a firefighter in Strathclyde in the 1960s – and the family connections continue, as his son Liam is now also on call at Wareham.

After Tom’s family settled in Wareham in 1977, he started working for the Forestry Commission, a job he held for 43 years prior to retiring two years ago.

His knowledge of the local area and of trees has proved invaluable during fire calls and rescues – whether from knowing the best routes through local forests, to helping the safe rescue of someone trapped by a tree by knowing the best branches to cut.

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Tom has attended many heath fires over the years, the biggest of which was at Wareham Forest in 2020.

He said: “On one hand, working as part of such a big team, all pulling together to extinguish this extraordinary fire, was something very special. However, on the other hand, I was looking at 20 years of my working life literally up in smoke, and that was very difficult.”

The fire did lead to a unique experience at the fire station a few weeks later.

Tom added: “It was during Covid, and we were all out every Thursday evening to clap for the NHS.

“On this one occasion, someone in the crowd then called three cheers for their firefighters – we all had some dust in our eyes at that point!”

Other incidents that Tom will never forget are the merchant vessel EBN Magid fire in January 1986 – the Liberian cargo ship caught fire in the English Channel and was towed into Portland Harbour – and the BDH factory blaze in Poole in June 1988.

His last drill night next Tuesday (March 25) will be a celebration of an outstanding career, but Tom will still have a few days before he formally retires on March 31.

He’s looking forward to more free time.

“I’ve loved every minute of my time in the fire service, and I’ll always be a firefighter at heart,” he said

“But being on call does mean you don’t always have the freedom to go for a long walk or a family lunch, so I’m looking forward to more time with my wife, Dawn, and the rest of the family – I may even finally get my garage sorted into a proper workshop!”

Chief fire officer Andy Cole said: “It’s people like Tom and their dedication to their colleagues and the wider community that keep the fire and rescue service going.

“Being an on-call firefighter is incredibly rewarding, but it needs a level of commitment that goes beyond the individual into their family life and primary employment.

“My heartfelt thanks therefore go to Tom and everyone who has supported him for 41 years.

“He has been a real inspiration to his colleagues at Wareham and across the wider service, and he will be missed. On behalf of Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, the people of Wareham and the wider communities of Dorset and Wiltshire, I am sending Tom every good wish for a long and happy retirement, with plenty of time to enjoy life – without the interruption of a pager!”

People can still become an on-call firefighter at Wareham and other fire stations across Dorset and Wiltshire.

For more information, visit www.dwfire.org.uk/on-call-firefighters.