A BURY fire station stalwart retired over the weekend after 31 years at the station.
Fifty-one year-old Ged Birch, who lives in Walmersley, started working at Bury fire station when he was 20 years old, working there for 28 years, plus a shorter spell at Rochdale station.
He did his last shift as a fireman, leaving to pursue a career as a DJ, last Friday, with fellow Bury staff paying tribute to him.
Keith Hadley, watch manager, said: "He joined in 1989 and has been a big part of the station ever since. He was always a big character in the station."
Mr Birch recorded his leaving presentation on Facebook Live with family and friends across the world watching.
He said streaming the presentation was a "nice way to do it" but that it was a "pity the pubs are shut" on his last day.
Ged said that he was an air cadet as a child and that he was "always going down that route" of becoming a fireman at the age of 20.
He said: "I started pretty much as young as you can. It was my dream job, I was excited to go to work every day."
Ged is now pursuing a new dream of becoming a full-time DJ.
He said: "I've been doing it a couple of years now and have set up my own company."
Ged admitted it was not the ideal time to start as a DJ, in lockdown, but that he has been live streaming every week.
Firefighting is still in the family however as Ged's wife works at Whitefield Station and his step-daughter is with the fire service in the Midlands.
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