Belmont has bid farewell to one of its long-serving firefighters, who enjoyed working his last shift with his daughter.
Graham Lane started his firefighting career in July 1988 and celebrated close to 35 years of service at the Belmont Fire Station during his last working shift on Wednesday, July 5.
Mr Lane said he took up firefighting as a “lifetime career” and loved working with a great group of people who could rely on each other.
“One of the guys at the footy club was a firefighter, and he started talking about it, and I thought, wow, that sounds like a good career, and it has been.
“My favourite part of the job is the camaraderie of knowing each person’s looking after everyone and the interesting type of work that we do.”
Mr Lane said it was the right time for him to retire from firefighting, and he looked forward to having more time on his hands to play golf, go camping, fish, and look after the grandkids.
“It’s pretty demanding shift work for 35 years,” he said.
“You get to a point in your career where you’re putting a breathing apparatus on during every call, which isn’t so bad when you’re 25, but gets harder as you get older.”
Daughter Becky Finke followed in her dad’s firefighting footsteps and said she was honoured to work with him during his last shift.
“The more people you speak to that do the job, they’ll say it’s the best job in the world, so it didn’t take too much convincing,” she said.
“You don’t know what you’re going to get each day which keeps it interesting, and the bond with our teammates is like having another family away from home.”
