After 16 years in the top job and 39 years as a firefighter, captain Rod Byrnes has retired from NSW Fire and Rescue Gunnedah.
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After nearly four decades as a first responder, Mr Byrnes has handed his helmet to David Welch, previously the deputy captain.
“I’m more than happy with Dave taking over. He’s got the ability to do the job and the guys respect him,” Mr Byrnes said.
Mr Byrnes joined the crew when he was just 17 with close friend Ken Hartley.
“Ken’s brother Paul was on the crew and said we should join, so we joined for a bit of fun, but we soon found out after a while it was more than just fun it was a reality check – it was a life changing experience for both of us,” Mr Byrnes said.
“Basically from my working age right through to now, I’ve been on call 24/7 every day since then. It’s been a long time, but it’s my time to step aside and let someone else take over the job. I’ve put my family aside for 39 years for the community, I think I’ve done my time and I want to spend time with my family now.”
Mr Byrnes has many memorable experiences from his time on the crew – good and bad. He has attended countless motor vehicle accidents, been tasked to other areas for major floods and fires, attended a train derailment, and fires at Stetsons and Trelawneys.
One that sticks in his memory is the Bestcare pet food factory explosion in Gunnedah in 2003.
“We were there for three days, it was probably the largest explosion in Gunnedah’s history and probably one of the largest in NSW. It created roughly 30 million dollars worth of damage and it was all over and done with,” Mr Byrnes said.
Mr Byrnes said he will miss the camaraderie of the station.
“We are a very close group of people. We rely on each other because it’s a very dangerous job, so we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got each others backs. I’ll miss the mateship. Their safety was always my biggest priority,” he said.
Mr Byrnes will now focus on his job at Gunnedah High School and spending more time with his family.
“I’ve still got my real job, my daytime job, it just means when the bells go off at night time it will be someone else not me,” he said.
Captain David Welch thanked Mr Byrnes for his commitment to the NSW Fire and Rescue service and said he will be honoured at a celebration on the weekend.
“An amazing commitment and contribution to our local area, Fire and Rescue NSW, and to all current and previous members of our station,” Station Commander David Welch said.