A HOLSWORTHY firefighter has been praised after meeting an important milestone in his career.

Gary Allcorn, the crew manager at Holsworthy Fire Station has been celebrated after reaching 30 years of service while based at the station.

In his career, Mr Allcorn has attended thousands of calls for assistance both as a firefighter and as one of the stations co-responders.

The co-responder role which Mr Allcorn has served in during his career is currently under threat from being abolished by South Western Ambulance Service Trust in favour of volunteer first responders in a bid to save money, with the controversial proposals coming under severe criticism from local political figures.

Mr Allcorn’s colleagues paid a tribute to him, describing him as playing a vital role in mentoring the next generation of the town’s fire fighters as well as reliably and frequently helping people in their moment of need by ‘dropping his plumbing tools the moment the pager sounds’.

A spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service’s Holsworthy Fire Station said: “A massive congratulations to our very own long serving crew manager Gary Allcorn on achieving a magnificent 30 years service at Holsworthy Fire Station!

“Over the years Gary has attended thousands of fire calls and co-responder calls. Helping people in our community at their most hardest times, dropping his plumbing tools the moment that pager sounds to respond to emergencies!

“Gary plays a massive part in keeping the appliance available in our town with his availability and dedication to the on-call team but also plays a big part sharing his knowledge and experience, mentoring the current crew, helping the future generation of Holsworthy firefighters.

“A massive congratulations from all the crew here at station 10 and we look forward to many more years riding the pump with you!”