'I'll miss the teamwork and the banter': Telford firefighter retires after 30 years on the front line

A Shropshire firefighter is getting ready to hang up his helmet after three decades of fighting fires and saving lives.

Telford-based firefighter Martin Jones is marking the end of a 30‑year career in the fire service.

Martin, who has most recently been based at Telford Central Fire Station, said the job had been in his sights since childhood.

“My dad was a firefighter back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, so it was something I always looked at,” he said.

He began his career in 1996 as a retained firefighter in Shrewsbury, later moving to the fire service in Cheshire in 2002 before returning to Shropshire in 2007.

Across three decades he has attended countless incidents, including some of the county’s most serious fires. But he says it’s the people, not the emergencies, that define the job.

“It’s the teamwork and the banter you have among the firefighters at the station. It’s been a pleasure to come into work every day,” he said.

Martin has seen the service evolve dramatically since the 1990s, from equipment and training to the demands placed on crews.

“It’s a different career now than it was 30 years ago, but it’s one I’d still recommend.”