Mr. Ronnie King, Chief Fire Officer of the Mid and West Wales Fire Brigade, paid a visit to Tenby Fire Station last week, just days before his official retirement.
Born in Keighley, Yorkshire, in 1943, Chief Fire Officer King has served the fire service for 41 years, with almost 20 years spent as Chief Fire Officer in the Mid and West Wales area.
He followed in his father's footsteps when he joined the West Riding of Yorkshire Fire Brigade in 1961, later moving to London Fire Brigade for two years and returning to Yorkshire in 1970 where he held appointments as senior training instructor and divisional fire prevention officer.
During his career he has also served in Fife and with the Fire Services Inspectorate at the Home Office.
In 1984, he was awarded the Queen's Fire Service Medal, and in 1995 was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the service over many years.
He was Chief Fire Officer of the former Dyfed Fire Brigade and in November 1995, he was appointed Chief Fire Officer (Designate) of the newly-formed Mid and West Wales Fire Brigade, taking over the command of the organisation when it became fully operational on April 1, 1996, following the reorganisation of the fire service in Wales.
He announced his intention to retire earlier this year and officially steps down today (Friday) to be replaced by present Deputy Chief, Douglas Mackay.
To mark the occasion of his retirement, Station Officer Dicky Lewis and the crews at Tenby presented Mr. King with a special framed print of Tenby.