After 37 years of being called out at all hours Dubbo fire captain Bob Suckling is looking forward to kicking off his boots on the riverbank and indulging his lifelong passion for fishing.
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Born and raised in Dubbo, Bob joined the local brigade as a volunteer in January 1965.
Dubbo station officer Glen Thompson said there were not many fellows who had been as committed as Bob.
"He is a good leader and his skill has been a great asset to the brigade - it'll be a shame to lose him," Mr Thompson said.
Bob has witnessed every major fire to have taken place in the city in the past four decades.
Among the more memorable have been Marcus Clarkes store in Talbragar Street (1966), CAJ Peters Sawmill in Cobborah Road (1970), the old flour mill in Brisbane Street (1974) and the old ice works in Macquarie Street (1978).
"Marcus Clarkes and the sawmill were a total loss but we managed to save a fair part of the old flour mill, which was very satisfying to me," Bob recalled.
"The flour burned for five and a half days but we saved the mill and all the old machinery, which is a great part of the city's history.
"The old ice works was being used to store tyres and we weren't able to save much of it but I remember it being one of the coldest nights I've ever experienced.
"Most people would think being a fireman would mean putting up with a lot of heat but sometimes you get drenched from the fire hoses and if it's a cold night you can be freezing.
"That night we left the hoses and came back in the morning to clean up and found all the hoses frozen solid."
Like all good fireman stories there is always the ubiquitous cat to rescue.
In Bob's case it was a kitten stuck in a stormwater pipe at the old Forty Winks store in Talbragar Street.
"This kitten had somehow got into the downpipe and there was a tennis ball blocking its exit," Bob recalled with amusement.
"We had to pull up the floorboards in the shop to get to the point where the kitten was trapped.
"I finally dragged it out and discovered it was a wild alley cat and far from being grateful it bit me on the finger."
Bob laughs about it now as he does about many of the times he's had with his mates in the brigade.
But it will be a different story on Sunday when he hangs up his helmet for the final time.
"I'm looking forward to the fishing but it will be hard walking away from this place," Bob admitted.
He was hoping to make it to 40 years service but osteoarthritis in his knees put paid to that.
However it won't be enough to prevent him getting along the riverbanks in his eternal quest to feed the region's fish.
