Rob Richards says there was always a good feeling of camaraderie within the brigade.

The longest serving member of Greenhithe Volunteer Fire Brigade has hung up his hat after 38 years.

Rob Richard's achievement will be celebrated on Saturday as part of the brigade's mid-year honours night.

Finishing up is a bit of a relief for the 72-year-old who has since moved to Cambridge.

"At my age the mind is willing but the body is not," Richards says.

"I've passed on the knowledge I had gained from my years."

He joined the service in 1977 wanting to do a bit of community work.

"If you had said to me then I'd be there for 38 years I'd say you're joking."

The variation while volunteering contributed to his ability to serve nearly four decades.

"It was always interesting. Everytime you get a call you never know where you're going and you have to be able to think on the spot and make up your mind quickly," Richards says.

Some of his milestones include getting a Gold Star award for 25 years service and his five years as Chief Fire Officer.

He also completed the Sky Tower Chair Challenge twice, once when he was 65-years-old and again at 66.

"That was an achievement for me at my age," he says. "I still managed to beat some of the younger members of the brigade."

One thing has been constant throughout his time serving... change.

"When I first joined Greenhithe was very rural. We've seen it change from a few hundred houses to several thousand," Richards says.

"During the summer it was very common to get called out to grass fires and rubbish fires that got out of control. There was an awful lot more farmland. Now you don't get the same number of scrub fires."

He says the reduction of the speed limit on the main road into Greenhithe also reduced the numbers of accidents they were called to.

Current chief fire officer Gareth Wallis joined the brigade when Richards was chief nearly six years ago.

"He's been an absolutely wonderful person to have as a member of brigade in terms of length of service and depth of knowledge about firefighting," Wallis says.

"It was great for younger and new members of the brigade to have someone like him around that has such a wealth of experience and knowledge.

"He will absolutely be missed."