FATHER and musician John Gannon first ventured into Witney Fire Station 14 years ago to recruit a new member for his band.

Little did he know he would leave that day signed up as an on-call firefighter and go on to save hundreds of lives during his time in the service.

Now, as he retires from the frontline, Mr Gannon is urging others to train as retained firefighters and take part in something "life-changing".

Mr Gannon, 56, said: "I had no intention of joining the fire service – it was not on my bucket list.

"I was a bit rebellious: I was in a band and we needed a horn section.

"I knew this guy called Steve Fletcher and unbeknownst to me he was fire station manager at Witney.

"He said to me 'yes I'll join the band but you'll have to join the fire service'.

"I said 'are you serious?' but I signed up on the day."

Mr Gannon, who lives in Witney with wife Theresa, plays drums with vintage jazz and blues group the Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band.

But he said his first training sessions "damn near killed" him.

He added: "When I walked into the station it was such a culture shock: I was in awe of these guys and girls who went to fatal car accidents and fires.

"They put their lives on the line sometimes. They are fighting to save someone's life

"The self discipline you need in that time is unbelievable."

As a retained firefighter, Mr Gannon signed up for 120 hours a week until his retirement. He could be called to service at any time day or night, even when working as head of maintenance at Abingdon and Witney College.

He added: "We all get pagers like surgeons do and when they go off you have to its handy if an employer lets you go off

"The college was very proactive. It's difficult for employers now since the recession. Things have changed dramatically."

Following his retirement, Mr Gannon, who has two daughters Laura, 30 and Hannah, 25, is urging others to sign up to the service.

He said: "I firmly believe we can do more as a society to help keep us safe.

"Don't be daunted by it. Everyone was new once and everyone has it in them to do something for other people.

"Everybody lives on a knife edge. You could be as fit, wealthy and good looking as anything but then you could be involved in something tragic and that's not your fault.

"And the bond that you develop with the people you work with is amazing. I might be closer to some of them than my brothers or sisters.

"You look at life a little bit differently doing this. Life is precious."

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