A Wick firefighter has hung up his overalls for the last time after 36 years of service.
Watch commander Colin Gunn has dedicated his life to keeping his community safe, joining Wick station in 1986.
Since then he has attended thousands of call-outs across Caithness.
He climbed the ranks and became watch commander in March 2020.
While the 16-strong team may have changed over time, Mr Gunn said every member is committed to protecting the public and would “bend over backwards to help”.
The 60-year-old has seen many changes over the years, with the service becoming more “preventative” than “reactive”.
Wick is a retained station, meaning Mr Gunn juggled call-outs with his work as a painter and decorator. He plans to continue with that work.
‘I will get to chill out at night now’
As well as tackling fires and responding to alarms, the Wick team often assist Scottish Ambulance Service with non-injured call-outs.
Mr Gunn recalled the sad feeling he had when he was deployed on his last ever call, but is looking forward to relaxing in the evenings.
“My last proper call-out was a car fire but I had a couple of false alarms after that but it’s always a sad feeling knowing it’s your last time being in charge of an appliance.
“I’ll carry on working, but hopefully I will get to chill out at night now. It’s a great thing, but when you’ve just made your dinner and you’ve sat down then the pager goes off it can be hard, but it’s what we signed up for.”
To mark his retirement, his colleagues presented him with an engraved glass plaque and an engraved bottle of whisky.
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