Herm's long-serving Fire Team leader bids farewell

Monday 02 September 2019

Serving as a fireman on Herm fulfilled the dream that Simon George had as a young boy.

Mr George is leaving the island, where he has also worked as its engineer, after 15 years in its Fire Team.

He took up the top job nine years ago and has overseen the creation of a new fire station, pumps kit and other equipments. 

"I don’t think any other team leader has achieved getting all of that sorted in 15 years," Guernsey Fire & Rescue's Acting Deputy Chief Officer Martin Lucas told him at a special leaving ceremony yesterday. 

Mr Lucas, who was Mr George's training officer when he first joined the service, was among a number of GFRS staff to attend the ceremony and thank the Herm-based firefighter for his services to the island. 

Although there may only be a few incidents a year to attend, Mr George has attended a variety of call-outs. 

From an explosion on a yacht in the harbour, to a large green waste fire and the search for a missing person, there have been some serious incidents which have put his and his team's training to the test. 

"It was getting towards darkness when search and rescue were trying to find the missing person," he said of that incident. "The lifeboat, Air Search and the Breqhou helicopter were out as well [as us] and when we found him the sense of relief was massive."

Pictured top: Simon George, right, is handing over the reins to Brett Moore, who joined the fire team at the same time as him 15 years ago.

Reflecting on his time in Herm, he said he would be leaving with plenty of happy memories. 

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as team leader and as a team member before that," he said. "It is a young boy’s dream [to be a firefighter] and that has been fulfilled in this role."

He has received "fantastic support" from GFRS, whose control the Herm unit comes under, and his team in the island, who all work normal day jobs alongside their training. 

"They make it an easy job, they make me smile and they make training easy," he said. "Thanks to the island as well as they give us the opportunity to do this job.

"People in Herm are very aware of fire safety and are very conscious of the fact that we are about an hour away from Guernsey. It is a certain buzz when you have to respond to a call out, but ideally you want to avoid any incidents."

He is moving to Southampton early next month and has seen a job advertisement for a retained firefighter nearby.

"I could be tempted to send in an application!," he added. 

Pictured top: The Herm Fire Team with members of GFRS.