A firefighter has hung up his fire gloves and boots after a record-breaking 38 years plus at Yelverton.

David Milburn, 65, has beaten the previous record long-service for Yelverton by four months and is now able to relax without being on duty shifts for 24 hours. His wife Fiona jokes that they can now celebrate their honeymoon, which was missed because he could not afford the time.

She is also looking forward to days out with David without the fear of being diverted to a fire, a smoke alarm alert, a river rescue or a cat up a tree.

David is so dedicated, that even when he was on a day’s leave from his former gardener’s job at the Garden House, and not even on-call with the fire service, he went on a shout.

Fiona recalls: “We were at Yelverton when I heard a loud bang and saw a car had driven by mistake into a shop front and trapped a person walking past. So, instead of going to Lydford for a nice day out, of course David insisted on driving to the fire station and going out on the callout himself, while I made the emergency call. It’s typical that he was so loyal to help the community.”

She added that David also missed the first birthday of his first daughter Phoebe because he was attending a barn fire. Fiona said: “Although Phoebe was obviously too young to know this, I told her and she never forgets and brings it up.”

David said although the ‘time was right’ to retire, he will miss the camaraderie and teamwork of fire service: “It becomes harder and harder to do some of the physical training and carry the heavy gear, like breathing apparatus (BA) or do the river rescue training. The retirement age used to be 55, before that was abolished, so I have done 11 more years than that, which isn’t bad.

“I love driving the fire engine, just like any schoolboy I suppose. And I love responding fast and helping people who rely on you in an emergency. It can be an exciting and fulfilling job. I’ll also miss the team.”

The job training has changed since he joined the fire service in 1988: “We used to be able to go on shouts after basic training, but before BA training. But that’s changed and health and safety and BA training has to be done before you go out on the fire engine. I actually did BA training first when I joined because I trained in it when I was in the Royal Navy. I left the navy to be closer to my family and joined the fire service because it gave me the same adrenaline rush as the navy.”

His naval experience, including knowing how to salute, means it was his duty to lay the Crapstone memorial remembrance wreath for Yelverton Fire Station.

David can now spend more time ferrying daughters Katelyn (triple jump) and Phoebe (hammer) to athletics fixtures all over the country.

Anyone wanting to join the fire service can contact Yelverton Fire Station through its Facebook page or website at: https://www.dsfire.gov.uk