Grantham firefighter to leave Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue after 24 years

A firefighter is hanging up his helmet and hose after serving nearly 25 years of service to the county.

Mark Brammer, originally from Kent, joined Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue in 2000 as an on-call firefighter, based in the Grantham area.

He is now “hanging up my axe for one last time” on July 3 to spend more time with his family and continue his work with utility business Beauparc as a fire systems training manager across the UK.

“The training has been amazing and I have made some extremely good friends which I will take with me when I leave,” said Mark.

He added: “We have had some great times. With some of the things we see, we have become a tight knit community.

“It is not all glamorous or rescuing and saving cats from trees, we have seen some devastating stuff.”

Mark joined as an on call firefighter after seeing an advertisement in the Grantham Journal. At the time, he was working as a senior valuer for a Grantham estate agents.

He said: “I saw the advert, rang them up and here I am 24 and a half years later.

“I started my training in Lincoln, then RAF Waddington and then I went down to Morton.”

Over his years in the fire service, Mark said he has “learned a lot” and “grown up a lot”.

He added: “I have seen and been involved with lots of incidents and accidents.

“I have changed in the way I drive and the way I perceive things. It is all positive, I just think I have learnt so much.”

Over the years, he has seen some challenges though.

“I would say a challenge was balancing family life,” he said.

Mark added: “I have a wife and two lovely daughters, one is 20 and one just turned 18 last month.

“All they have known is me being in the fire service. All of the things we used to have at the station like family events have helped the wives as well to cope when we are not there and out to the early hours of the morning.

“I think it’s good we had that. They were an extended family and community.”

Mark plans to stay in touch with his friends from the fire brigade and continue to pass on his fire knowledge through his new role.

For anyone who is thinking of a career in fire and rescue, he said: “I would say anyone who is looking to serve their community and wants to get out and do something different, then contact your local fire brigade or station.”