THE SECOND longest serving retained firefighter in the country has decided to call it a day after 41 years serving the community of Tavistock but he has promised he will be back to make the tea!

Tim Smith was commended for his 'exceptional and dedicated' service in a special ceremony last week at Tavistock Fire Station where he has risen through the ranks, spending the last eight years as station commander.

Chief fire officer for the Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service Lee Howell said Mr Smith's wealth of experience and knowledge would be greatly missed by his colleagues.

Mr Smith joined the service at the age of 18 having had a dream of being a fireman since a young boy and followed in the public service footsteps of his father who was a policeman for 40 years.

His passion for the job has never faded and he told the Times this week he would miss it dearly but he wanted to retire while he could still do the job well.

'My employment for the whole of my working life has revolved around the fire service,' said Mr Smith, who trained as a motor mechanic but has worked in maintenance for many years at various establishments in the town.

'There is something about it — the rush of adrenaline every time you get a shout and the job satisfaction. It is unbelievable the feeling you get when you rescue someone from a car accident or a fire who would have died had you not done what you did — I have had that feeling for 41 years.'

Mr Smith admits there were times when despite all efforts made the outcome was not good but firefighters accepted that was part of the job.

'In my opinion there is no better career than the fire service,' he said 'There is no better way of serving the community and at the same time serving yourself. As a kid I was quiet and withdrawn but the fire service really brought me out of myself.

'There is also an international camaraderie. When 9/11 happened my wife emailed some New York firefighters to send our condolences and we are still in touch now. I was treated like one of the crew when I was in Florida and everywhere you go people put their trust in you if you are a firefighter, even more so than a police officer I think.'

Over the years Mr Smith has seen the introduction of breathing apparatus and sophisticated hydraulic rescue equipment for cutting people out of vehicles: 'When I joined our road traffic collision equipment consisted of a tool called a 'ketch' that looked like a giant tin opener,' he said.

Among his most memorable shouts was the Dingles fire in Plymouth in 1992 where he had a narrow escape when the building collapsed around him, a fire at Chase Web papermill where three people died, a blaze in a peat bog that lasted six weeks and removing a 40ft icicle from Tavistock Viaduct which was one of the more unusual requests.

He is the only serving fireman with a silver medal from the RSPCA for rescuing a cow that fell down Lydford Gorge, he has been involved in the Duke of Edinburgh award for fire training for years and helped train 290 new fire recruits.

So, after spending 160 hours a week on duty, ready to respond to incidents anytime night or day, what will the newly retired fireman do with his spare time: 'More than anything I am looking forward to taking off my shoes and socks and pointing my car in the opposite direction to the fire station,' he said.

'And I have decided that on Thursday nights which are drill nights I am going to have piano lessons.'

Mr Smith praised the stalwart support of his wife Julie and also apologised to his ex-wife June and children Simon (a fire officer of 20 years), Victoria and Lucy for all the spoilt meals and having to stay at home at the weekends when everyone else was going to the beach.

Mr Smith's retirement gift from his crew was a set of personnalised number-plates containing his initials and 999.