Three generations of the same family have served Newcastle Emlyn Fire Station for a combined 73 years of service and counting after the latest in the family signed up as a fire-fighter earlier this year.

Gareth Jones joined Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (known then as Dyfed Fire Brigade) in 1975. His son, Emyr Jones, then joined as an on-call firefighter in 1996 and most recently, Emyr’s son and Gareth’s grandson, Cian Jones, joined as an on-call firefighter in June – one week after his 18th birthday.

Not only has Cian followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, but he has also inherited his grandfather’s previous service number.

Gareth, Emyr and Cian aren’t the only members of the family who work at the service, Gareth’s other son, Hefin Jones, is also a member of staff.

Combined, all four family members have almost 90 years of dedication to Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the communities it protects.­

Gareth is the eldest member of the family and spent 45 years working for MAWWFRS through its different iterations.

Gareth was 25 years old when he joined the service as on-call firefighter in 1975.

During his career, Gareth spent 19 years as Newcastle Emlyn Fire Station’s watch manager, before moving on to work within the service’s Community Safety Team.

Gareth was one the firefighters who attended is the Amoco Refinery fire in August 1983 in Milford Haven where an oil storage tank containing over 46,000 tonnes of crude oil caught fire.

Gareth can remember having to enter underground chambers underneath the tanker that was on fire to set ground monitors.

“I can remember us all entering this confined underground chamber and being very aware of how dangerous it was,” he said.

“Most of us on duty that day had young families at home and, as the watch manager, I told my fellow crew members that if they wanted to turn back to do so.

“Nobody did and it was this camaraderie and supporting one another that I enjoyed most while working as a firefighter.”

Following in his father’s footsteps, Emyr joined on an on-call basis at Newcastle Emlyn Fire Station in 1996, before becoming a wholetime firefighter in 1999.

Emyr went on to spend over 10 years as watch manager at Newcastle Emlyn and is about to mark 28 years of service.

Emyr and Gareth spent a total of six years working together in various capacities at Newcastle Emlyn, along with Emyr’s brother, Hefin.

After spending over 24 years as a wholetime firefighter, Emyr is currently on secondment at service headquarters, where he is developing and delivering marauding terrorist attack awareness training to all operational crews, as well as providing operational cover in the Ceredigion area.

Emyr says that supporting and protecting the local community and teamwork are the best things about being a firefighter.

“There’s a real feeling of being part of a family, not only within your own crew but with other stations too, whether it’s while we’re responding to incidents, undertaking training or attending community safety events,” he said.

“This isn’t limited to being on-duty either, many of us will socialise outside of work and I’ve made some lifelong friends during my career.”

Cian began his training to become an on-call firefighter in mid June – one week after his 18th birthday.

Having grown up with his grandfather and father working as firefighters, Cian had an early interest in becoming a firefighter himself.

Outside of his role with the service, Cian works as a plasterer and while he is in the early stages of his career, he aspires to eventually become a wholetime firefighter.

3408 is an important number for Cian, as not only is it his service number, but it was also his grandfather’s before his retirement from the service.

“I’m proud to be following in my father’s and grandfather’s footsteps and serving the community of Newcastle Emlyn,” Cian said.

“I enjoy the buzz of being on-call and responding to incidents, as well as working as a team with the other crew members, as an avid rugby and football player, I already have a strong teamwork mentality.

“I’m really enjoying the experience and I’m looking forward to developing my career in the fire and rescue service.”