St Keverne firefighter Paul Stephens retires after 36 years

Paul Stephens has been an on-call firefighter at St Keverne Fire Station for the past 36 years after joining the service on January 1, 1988, making him one of the longest-serving firefighters in St Keverne. 

During that time, Paul, along with the rest of the crew had helped hundreds of people and communities in Cornwall, including the Coverack floods in 2017, which saw 50 affected and roads ripped apart.

Paul was first on the scene and helped people there for around an hour and a half before other emergency service crews arrived.

Paul at the station's 50th anniversary open day in April 2023 (Image: St Keverne Fire Station)

Paul – born and raised in St Keverne- spent 15 years of his fire service life as a station manager and a qualified co-responder.

However, Paul has now decided to retire from the service where he will spend more time with his family and continue with his day job as a builder.

Although Paul is looking forward to more time for himself, he admits he will miss the camaraderie of station life. He said: “I am going to miss the guys at the station, and the laughs we have had over the years.”

Paul (centre) with other members of the crew (Image: St Keverne Fire Station)

Martyn Addinall, a Cornwall Fire and Rescue colleague has also wished Paul well on his retirement. He said: "I must commend Paul for his years of dedicated service. 

"From his early days as a firefighter to becoming a leader of the team, Paul has been a keystone of the station. 

"His unwavering commitment to the well-being of his team and the surrounding community is respected by all of those he has served and helped throughout his career. 

"I have enjoyed his company and support during the many years that I have been involved with St Keverne and I wish him a peaceful retirement and plenty of new adventures with his new found time."