Castlepollard firefighter Noel Morgan celebrated his retirement from Castlepollard Fire and Rescue Service with an event in the Castle Varagh Hotel, Castlepollard on Thursday, 8 August.
“It was a bit of a hard decision to have to leave. It will be something I certainly miss; there’s a brilliant crew in Castlepollard. I’d have a lot of time for each and every one of them and a lot of respect for them. I couldn’t have asked for a better send off,” Noel told Topic.
Noel, who retired at the end of June, said joining the fire service was one of the best things he ever did. The Castlepollard man said he learned numerous skills including navigating crises and helping people dealing with tragedy. This is one of the best things about the job according to Noel: “The best part of the job is being able to help people. Some people would have a chimney fire and that’s the end of the world for them, someone else might have a cardiac arrest. Every situation is unique and it’s a crisis for that person at that time.”
Noel is currently the environmental health and safety manager at Flood Precast in Castlepollard. He recently took up the role as HR manager and decided it was time to leave the fire service. The Castlepollard man said he “absolutely loved” being part of the fire service which he said offers “great opportunities”. Noel said there are numerous opportunities to progress through the ranks and added he was made a sub-officer two years into his fire service career.
“It’s a life-changing career path and if someone’s interested in that I would recommend it 110%,” said the Castlepollard man who also paid tribute to his family for their support.
“Another thing that’s key to being in the fire service is the support of your family. If you don’t have that you can’t be in it. There’s a lot of sacrifices that have to be made. Like get-togethers or family dos and holidays you have to put off.”
TIGHT UNIT
Cllr Alfie Devine is also a member of the Castlepollard Fire Service and has served for 15 years. He will take Noel’s vacant role of sub-officer as three more staff will be added to the fire service following Noel’s retirement.
“It’s a tight unit there in Castlepollard,” Cllr Devine told Topic.
Family and friends attended the event as Noel was presented with a fireman trophy awarded to every retiring member. He was also given a copy of the record for his first ever call in the station. Cllr Devine was full of praise for Noel who he said is “very involved in the community”.
“Noel was very fair. He was very easy to work with and very easy to get on with. He pulled his weight when he was there. He was very articulate in terms of his management skills,” said Cllr Devine.
Although fire fighters are part-time workers, it is a 24/7 commitment. This means firefighters like Noel and Alfie have to remain tethered to their communities and are constantly waiting on a call to action.
“You have to stay local, you have to stay around the town. You have to be on call 24/7,” said Cllr Devine.
