A FIREMAN whose bravery helped to protect Barrhead residents for over a decade has officially retired.

Barrhead Community Fire Station watch commander Brian Webster, 53, is bowing out after 30 years in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Though he will miss the camaraderie that comes with the job, Brian feels now is the right time to call it a day having worked his way up through the rankings at five different stations.

"I've been here a long time and I've got a lot of experience in the fire service because I worked in the city for most of it," he said.

"I'll miss the fun with the guys, I'll miss going out in the big red fire engines. The paperwork side, no, I'll not miss that but the laugh with the guys is the biggest thing.

"Basically, you're living here for four days, albeit you go home at night or vice versa.

"You're living with these guys day in, day out so you need to trust them, which I do impeccably."

Brian, who is originally from Paisley, has lived in Barrhead throughout the entirety of his career as a fireman.

In amongst posts at Pollok, Parkhead and Polmadie fire stations, he was first stationed in the town in 1995, albeit temporarily, before eventually returning to the Grahamston Road depot 10 years later.

Brian, who stays in Aurs Glen, completed his final shift on Monday, September 19 and is now looking forward to being able to commit more of his time to wife Margaret and children Kirsty, Mark and Rozlyn.

Ultimately, it was a sense of duty to the communities he served and the colleagues he worked beside which spurred Brian on.

When asked what the most enjoyable part of being a fireman is, he replied: "Going out to fires.

"It's a really close-knit thing. I've stayed at other stations for a long time as well, it's just the way things work.

"I didn't join until I'd actually just turned 23. I was a shop manager with a company called Robertson's on Paisley Road West.

"I thought this would be a more safe job, which it is, and more beneficial when you retire.

"At that time it wasn't a lot because when I joined the service it was about £10,500 per year starting salary for a fireman."

Brian, who up until retirement led a shift of six men at Barrhead Community Fire Station, added: "Since '92 I was a junior officer, okay the rank I'm at now I'm a wee bit higher up, and you end up with more guys to deal with, but it's not a problem managing people.

"If you treat people with respect, you get the respect back and that's the way I've always done it.

"I'm not blowing my own trumpet but I've got a number of guys through their promotion trials by telling them how to go about things.

"Hopefully I've been beneficial to most of them. Some of them are now higher up than I am.

"But hey-ho, I like going out in the fire engine."

As is to be expected with a firefighter who amassed three decades worth of experience, Brian encountered various tragic incidents.

He conceded that no amount of training ever prepared him for some of the sights he witnessed.

"Fires when young kids have been involved – they're hard to deal with," he said.

"All the firemen take that hard.

"One of my first fires here, which was back in '95, was when Shanks originally went up and that was an ongoing concern over there.

"You hear things from far away; a fireman got killed in Edinburgh or down south. You're aware of it but when you actually know the guy personally it brings it home.

"You think: 'Hang on a wee minute, that could easily be one of my guys or even me.'

"It still has its inherent risk unfortunately but it's still a good job to have. They're actually recruiting just now and I've told my son to apply.

"I never took my work home. The only time I actually took my work home was when I got injured one time and had to be brought home because I got burnt at a fire, believe it or not."

Brian acknowledged that although he had to face a number of testing situations in his career, there were still plenty of rewarding and lighter moments.

Not least when he was part of a crew called out to free a supposed bird from a chimney when stationed at Polmadie.

"One I went to do was to rescue a bird which had been stuck in a chimney.

"We went out and, by all intents and purposes, it sounded like a bird.

"The lady and gentleman were both doctors and the guy had put his pager on top of his mantelpiece and put it on vibrate.

"So every so often you would hear a buzz which sounded like birds were flapping and that's what it was – a vibrating pager.

"I put that on my fire report and the lassies at control had a good laugh."

As a watch commander, Brian was required to plan ahead and meticulously map out procedures and protocols.

However, as a retired fireman in his mid-50s, he is unsure what the future holds for him for once – except for sunshine.

He said: "Short-term, I'll go on a couple of holidays. I don't intend to find another job at present, not at least until next year to see how things pan out."