He had some spare time, felt he fitted the criteria, and thought it would be fun.

Since joining he has attended countless fires, car accidents and other emergencies, and last week, hung up his fire hat for the last time.

Work and life commitments have meant he can no longer commit to the requirements of the job, and he said the hard decision had to be made.

But he said he has loved every minute on the job.

Ray was working as an electrician at Essential Energy when he saw the ad for retained fire fighters at Kelso, and decided to step up.

Since joining has held just about every position in the station.

“I started at the base level, and moved through the ranks,” he said.

“Six years ago I was appointed deputy captain, but because of work commitments went back to fighting fires for a while,” he said.

Three years ago the fire captain role came up, Ray applied and was successful.

As Captain / Station Commander, his role was the running of the station as well as all the administrative side of things including HR.

“It’s everything from making sure everyone’s uniforms and kits are up to scratch to making sure they have completed all their training.

“With Fire and Rescue all staff have to undergo levels of attendance, drills and attending incidents, so the role is also monitoring everything and making sure everyone is up to date.”

“You’re on the ground as an incident commander, you’re not at the pointy end of the hose, it’s more directing your team and the resources.”

Ray said he has really enjoyed the captaincy.

“It was a big change, it was certainly daunting to start with” he said.

While he loved all his roles he said if he had to split it he said he would choose being a fire fighter as his favourite role.

“Being a fire fighter is really what I signed up for,” he said.

“Being able to help the community, it’s really a throw off line, but that’s really what it’s all about.

“I was never one to get caught up in being a fire fighter, I’ve always maintained if there’s someone out there who has got to the point of having to dial 000 they’re not having a good day.

“I just wanted to help.”

Ray is the first to admit he will miss the job.

“It’s going to be tough, I will miss the job and miss the command, but I will certainly be keeping in touch with the guys and girls.”

He also plans to keep his hand in the regional firefighting competition as a marshall.

“Through that I hope to keep in touch with friends and I might be able to mentor newer teams looking for guidance.”

But, he said, the time has come to hand over the reins.

“It’s time for me to go, for 16 years I’ve been tied to the pager, it’s been good but you can never just go and do something on the spur of the moment.

“I did consider stepping back from the captaincy, which would have freed me up a bit, but not enough.

“For me its time to resign from the position and open it up to someone else who can commit the time. After all its all about the station and keeping the big red truck on the road.”

“Looking back, I never had dreams of grandeur, my career just evolved, and I was surprised to end up where I did.

“But its been an absolute honour to sit in the role and work with the terrific people at our station and at others.”