Kirkby Lonsdale firefighter celebrates 30 years in service

Anthony Baines joined the team at Kirkby Lonsdale when he was 27 years old.

When asked about his reasons for joining the fire station, he said: "I enjoy the camaraderie and being part of the team with guys that I have known since we were kids.

"I look after the village where I grew up and the surrounding area - which is probably why I have stuck at it when my body is probably telling me not to."

Kirkby Lonsdale Fire Station's team. (Image: Submitted)

Mr Baines has attended more than a thousand callouts in his 30 years of service from helicopter and train crashes to gas explosions.

He highlighted the Grayrigg train crash in 2007 as one of the most 'memorable' callouts of his time at the station.

"When you have seen just about every incident that you can it takes a lot to take shock you now," said Mr Baines.

Mr Baines explained being a firefighter is a rewarding job but it is a 'big commitment'.

He said: "It is getting harder because as you get older your body is not as young as it once was and also you want to do other things which you struggle to do because it is a big commitment every day and every weekend.

"I have quite often been called out in the middle of a meal and you leave your family there and off you go for an hour or two."

He said the fire station is 'desperate' to find new firefighters and has issued an appeal for 'young people' to join in.

He said: "We are desperate for more firefighters because none of us are young. We are all slowly falling apart but there is no-one to replace us at the moment.

"If you are community-minded and you enjoy working as a team then you will love it. It is good fun. It does have its downsides - you do see a lot of stuff that you should not.

"It is a great sense of camaraderie when you come back from a job and you know that it has gone well, you are sat on the pump with all the lads and you are having a bit of a crack - that is a good feeling when you know you helped somebody out."