A WELL-respected fire commander who has worked across Cambridgeshire in his 30-year career has retired.

Andy Tucker, 50, “fell” into his role as a firefighter while he was looking for another job, but loved it so much that he developed a career at the service.

The father-of-two, from Hardwick, said: “I sort of fell into the service while I was looking what I called ‘a proper job’ as a marine cartographer (someone who maps the floor of the ocean). But I liked it so much that I stayed.

“It was an exciting job. The buzz was always going out to the incidents and dealing with the people and the fires.”

After starting his career in Cambridge in 1982, Mr Tucker served in numerous roles across the county, including positions at Cambridge, Dogsthorpe, Ely and Huntingdon, climbing the ranks from firefighter to station commander.

He then moved into the service’s prevention team working as a risk manager and, at some point, covered every district in Cambridgeshire.

He retired from his role as risk manager for Cambridge, East Cambs and South Cambs on Sunday.

Rick Hylton, the service’s area commander, said: “The service, together with many of our partner agencies, will greatly miss Andy and his wealth of experience and would like to thank him for his years of dedication to the Cambridgeshire community.”