A FIREFIGHTER who has protected East Linton for more than a decade has called it a day and hung up his tunic and helmet for the last time.

James Woodward was a member of the village’s retained fire and rescue unit for 16 years before stepping down recently.

Watch manager Murray Stewart, the leader of the fire unit and who works alongside James as a painter and decorator, led the tributes to his now former colleague.

He said: “James has always been very committed and over the past 16 years he was always among the first to respond whenever there was an emergency.

“He has played a huge part in building a great team here and I know he really enjoyed the role and the camaraderie that came with it.” Murray stressed that customers were always supportive when their pagers went off to alert them that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service needed them.

“Being a retained firefighter is all about protecting the community and James has certainly served the village well,” he added.

“The first aid aspect was something he was always particularly interested in and he also served as one of our drivers, which is obviously an essential role in getting crews to emergencies.

“Eventually the time comes when people do move on and everyone at the unit would like to wish James all the best for what comes next.” The importance of retained firefighters to the communities where they live and work is widely understood and, as an employer, Murray was clear that companies have nothing to fear from their staff serving as emergency responders.

He explained: “Whenever we start a job we let our customers know that we’re retained firefighters and we might be sent if there is a 999 call.

“People know it’s an important role and they really value their retained unit, so we’ve always had their full support and there’s never been any problem.

“Serving as a retained firefighter provides skills and confidence that really do benefit employers and if anyone is approached by a member of their staff who is thinking about applying then I would encourage them to support that goal.” Further information on serving as a firefighter on the retained duty system is available on the SFRS website at www.firescotland.gov.uk/work-with-us/join-us-as-a-retained-firefighter Anyone who is interested should get in touch with their local station to discuss the application process and the role.