Flaming good celebration marks retained firefighter's 25 years
A retained firefighter from Elmswell has celebrated 25 years of working with the service with a surprise party.
David Reid, 49, joined Elmswell Fire Station aged 24 to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was a retained fireman for the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Reid, of Eastern Way, said: "I wanted to help the community and there's quite a lot of drama involved.
"It is never dull and you meet all different types of people."
Having faced multi-vehicle pile-ups and tackled the blaze which ripped through Center Parcs in Elveden in 2002, Mr Reid said he had enjoyed his time in the hot seat.
Working with many of the same team throughout his career, Mr Reid, who works as a full-time technician at British Sugar, in Bury St Edmunds, said there was a close bond within the group, which has welcomed Mr Reid's son, Andrew, 24, as its latest recruit.
He said: "We are like one, big family really.
"Some parts of our work are very hazardous but we know we can rely on each other."
After a quarter of a century with the same station, Mr Reid was honoured with a surprise party there last Saturday.
He was also presented with a hand-painted portrait of himself while his wife, Alison, was given a bouquet.
He said: "It was a huge shock to have a party.
"I feel very honoured to be recognised and it is more than I expected."
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
