A firefighter who courageously battled blazes and served the community for three decades has hosed down his last fire.
New Malden firefighter Graham Smith, 53, will be toasting his 30 years of service by buying his colleagues a drink at his leaving do on Friday.
Mr Smith has now moved up to Cardiff, where his wife lives, after years of dividing his time between the family home and a rented flat in Ewell Road, Tolworth.
He said: “It is an end of an era for me. It’s just been an amazing thing. I don’t know if I have ever been scared [while fighting fires].
“It’s been a privilege to work with some fantastic people and to do the job you love and get paid for it. I have enjoyed working as part of a team.”
Mr Smith had been putting fires out in the borough for five years following his posting to the New Malden branch of the London Fire Brigade.
Before that he had been based in Battersea for more than 20 years.
He was also part of the team that battled the great Hampton Court fire in 1986, which ravaged the residential part of the palace for five hours in the early hours of Easter Monday.
Graham Smith (front) with colleagues Steve Gray, Mark Feaver, Rob Clarkson and Dick Tompkins
Having saved lives and stopped fires ransacking homes for years, he was nominated as an unsung hero by colleagues.
Firefighter Mark Fever said: “Graham is very professional, kind, considerate and very knowledgeable about the job.
“He will be greatly missed. I hope the new person can live up to him.”
Graham Smith, left, receives a retirement gift from Steve Gray
Mr Smith said he had been working in Barclays Bank for about five years when he wandered into the firefighter headquarters one day and filled out an application form to join in 1983.
He said: “Ten minutes later I was a firefighter.”
On being called an unsung hero he said: “I am a little bit embarrassed. But it is nice of them to think about me like that.”
Mr Smith said he still wanted to contribute to the community and would be helping with voluntary projects in Cardiff.
* Do you know an unsung hero? Call the newsdesk on 020 8744 4273 or email jon.sharman@london.newsquest.co.uk with your nomination.
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