DUNBARTONSHIRE’S home-grown fire chief is retiring from more than 30 years of protecting the public.

Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Paul Connelly is standing down having reached the highest ranks of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

Starting in 1986, Paul rose to become the boss responsible for a region spanning 13 local authorities and a population of more than 2.3 million people.

The 51-year-old said: “Every time a fire engine goes out the door it’s to help people.

“Unfortunately firefighters tend to meet them at their most vulnerable, when they’re experiencing some of the worst moments in their lives, and we always do everything we can to make the situation better than it was before we got there.

“Over the years I’ve attended the Stockline and Clutha disasters as well as many serious house fires and other tragedies, but even something that seems insignificant can stay with you.

“My first-ever incident was a tiny house fire in Milngavie after someone burnt the toast. That was every bit as much an emergency for the people involved.”

He continued: “Inevitably after 30 years in the fire service there are some bad memories of incidents where lives were lost or devastated, but thankfully the truth is that the happy memories far outweigh the bad ones.

“Being a firefighter is all about protecting the communities where you live and work, so if you want to make a difference then there really is no better job in the world.”

Paul, grew up in Clydebank and still lives in the town with his wife Karen and their daughter Jane.

His first posting with crews in nearby Milngavie was followed by promotion to leading firefighter at Greenock then a three year stint instructing firefighters in the use of breathing apparatus.

Subsequent promotions saw him return to the frontline to take charge of Knightswood and Yorkhill fire stations. He was later assigned to the Central Command team covering Greater Glasgow before becoming the divisional commander for Argyll & Bute.

With the launch of the national SFRS in 2013 he was appointed its senior officer for Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute – commanding an area including both his hometown and that where his career began.

A final promotion in January 2015 to head of service delivery for the west meant becoming the designated chief for a region with 127 fire stations and stretching from the border at Gretna to north of Oban.

In June, he was given the highest honour for fire service personnel in the UK and Commonwealth, the Queen's Fire Service Medal. It will be presented at Buckingham Palace later this year.

He has had a passion for the heritage of the service in Scotland during his service, including being involved in commissioning the Citizen Firefighter statue outside Glasgow Central Station.

Paul admitted leaving the firefighting won't be easy.

He said: “The ethos of helping people at their time of greatest need is still exactly the same and that will never change.

“We also do a lot more operationally – specialisms like line rescue, water rescue and urban search and rescue have become part of the firefighter’s role.

“Everything a firefighter does is about saving lives. We’re now even involved in trials with the ambulance service where our crews can help provide an initial response to help people who have suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

“It’s emotional. It’s not like any other job. When you finish your shift and go home you don’t stop being a firefighter, so I need to figure out how to be a retired firefighter.

“It’s a fantastic career and if I could go back to my first day and do it all over again I would in a heartbeat.”