‘It’ll be difficult to leave this family’

Andy Mauger hung up his helmet for the final time yesterday, as he officially retired from the Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service after 27 years and six months of dedication.

Thirty-four years of his life have been in uniform – he had a six-year stint in the forces before he joined the Fire and Rescue Service in January 1991.

During his time with the service, Mr Mauger said a number of incidents stood out.

‘There was the fire at the then Idlerocks Hotel and also the Tricorn Warehouse fire, where I can remember burning my uniform and melting one of the new Gallet helmets while lying in a pool of molten lead, trying to stay as low as possible away from the heat,’ he said.

‘The Commodore ship fire in the harbour also stands out, and I clearly recall the time that we were flown out in the middle of the night to be lowered onto the Kukawa, a 29,572-tonne cargo vessel which was on fire and had to be towed to Falmouth.’

Proud of his achievements, Mr Mauger said it was a good feeling to know there were people walking around today who the fire service had managed to save.

‘Over the years, a number of lives have been saved and people rescued from buildings which were on fire,’ he said.

‘But some of the bigger and stronger memories are the ones that we couldn’t save and that will always be with me. I’ve done a lot of work with the community, had great working relationships with the media, the police and ambulance. It’s going to be difficult to leave this family.’

During his time in service, Mr Mauger has seen many changes, most notably the move from being the Guernsey Fire Brigade to the Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service.

Two areas where he was instrumental in drawing up policies were the mutual assistance agreement, whereby the GFRS supports the St John Emergency Ambulance and Rescue Service in providing emergency medical care to casualties if they are the first responders on scene, and the fire safety education programmes, which are delivered to schools, groups and households across the island.

Asked what he would miss about life with the service, Mr Mauger said it would be the camaraderie.

‘I will miss the humour that it takes to do the job through some pretty dark times,’ he said.

‘It’s needed, this job can get to you, PTSD has raised its head massively over the last few years, and there needs to be mechanisms to cope with that and humour is by far the right way – at the right time and in the right place.

‘However, I won’t miss being on call for a quarter of the year on top of the normal day-to-day operational commitments.

‘It’s time for someone else to step up as duty officer and be the person that everyone looks to for leadership and direction when the need to save lives requires instant decisions and risk assessments, or to be the one taking the decision to stop further life risk when saving life is no longer possible.’

As for the future, Mr Mauger said he plans to enjoy every second.

‘I am downsizing my house as my children have all left home and I’m looking forward to enjoying time on the island,’ he said.

‘Hopefully spending more time with my children, as well as travelling to catch up with friends around the world.

‘Planned trips so far include the Rickshaw Run in India, an army reunion in London and plans to visit Spain and South Africa later in the year.

‘I also have my jet ski in the marina, so hopefully while everyone else is going to work I can be walking down the hill in my board shorts, asking them how their day’s going to go.’