Double retirement at Ellon Fire Station
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Ellon Fire And Rescue Service have waved goodbye to two highly experienced team members, collectively accumulating almost 60 years of service.
Watch commander Ron Beedie joined the crew in 1977 and served the community of Ellon for 43 years before stepping down last year.
Crew commander Stevie Nicol stepped down this month after 16 years with the crew, joining them in 2005.
Acting watch commander Neil Beedie said: "They will both be a big miss as they brought a lot of experience to the crew - a combined service of 59 years is an unbelievable achievement and commitment."
It won't only be the fire crew who miss their presence, with both men involved in community fire safety work.
This involved various projects to help help local residents ensure their homes were as safe as possible, including assisting with the fitting and checking of smoke alarms.
The crew did not allow them to leave empty handed, however, as they gathered to present them with long service awards and some leaving gifts.
Both men were presented with a certificate commemorating their service as well as statuettes to help them remember their time with the crew.
They were also presented with brass tallys mounted on a wooden plaque.
These have been personalised with their name as well as a note of the date when they first joined the crew and the date on which they departed from Ellon Fire And Rescue Service.
Continuing Neil said: "We are grateful for everything that Ron and Stevie have done over the years, and we also thank [their partners] Heather and Kathleen for all of the support which they have given the fire station too.
"They have always got stuck in with events like our open day, and they've also put up with many years of plans changing at the last minute when the pager goes off and us taking their men away from them.
"We wish them all the very best for their retirement."
Both men have been an asset to the crew while they have navigated tricky restrictions during the pandemic to be able to keep people safe.
The pandemic also meant that many of the Ellon crew's regular events were unable to take place, including the ever popular open day and car wash.
They were still able to welcome Santa, however, to join them on a festive tour of Ellon and the surrounding communities in December, albeit a little different as people were encouraged to donate online instead of in person, and this raised over £1500 for The Fire Fighters Charity.
