By Brian McDaid
Emotions filled the kitchen in Letterkenny Fire Station on Tuesday night as the final speaker of the night addressed his fellow firefighters past and present on his very last drill night.
Firefighter Norman Spratt was signing out after providing fire cover for his own town of Letterkenny for a quarter of a century.
Norman’s retirement signals the end of an era in Letterkenny in that he was the last firefighter still on the present day crew to answer calls to the old fire station on the High Road as well as the new present day station.
Colleagues, past and present, at Tuesday night’s retirement event for firefighter, Norman Spratt.
He recalled starting his career with Paddy Mc Namee at the old station and wondering if they would ever fill the roles of the experienced crew that answered the call in a busy town like Letterkenny.
Norman thanked all the members, past and present, for taking him under their wing as a young firefighter starting in the brigade. “I have learned so much from you all, we had some great times and some very sad times in the job that we do, and I want to remember those firemen that sadly never got to see their retirement,” Norman said, as emotions of a normally jolly person got the better of him on this final night.
Senior Assistant Fire Officer, Micheal Scott addressed the group and thanked Norman for his years of service. As did Eddie Moore, Station Officer , Conor McGuigan Donegal Fire Association and Barry McMenamin representing the firemen in Letterkenny who all made presentations to Norman and had flowers to be presented to Norman’s recently wedded wife Jean.
The crews old and new then made short work of six large Domino Pizzas followed by the traditional cuppa at the end of Norman’s final drill.
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