That is how Coleambally firefighter John Smith detailed his introduction to the Coleambally Rural Fire Service, joining up with the brigade in 1976 after being drawn to the vintage 1926 Dennis Fire Engine which was sitting out front of the brigade shed during a cruise around the town.

And now, 43 years later, the former group captain of the service has been honoured for his years of contribution.

Mr Smith, who became captain in 1977 before moving onto the group captain position in 1992 has travelled to help serve against a number of large bushfires, including fires in the Blue Mountains and the Black Saturday bushfires and while he is gradually taking steps back from the brigade, he continues to hold a position as a Deputy Captain and a Fire Investigator with the service and still looks forward to working with the brigade

"It [the life membership] makes me feel old," Mr Smith joked.

"There's a lot of ways in which people can help... everyone only has to go and hold the hose when everything has gone wrong."

"The comradeship in the RFS is pretty spectacular."

The head science teacher at Coleambally Central School until his retirement from teaching, Mr Smith was also instrumental in ensuring the brigade had young members hopping on board, overseeing the cadet program at the school and he said he was "enormously proud" of seeing those he taught go on to help services across the state.

"It's something where you are able to get the best out of kids who are 14, 15, 16," Mr Smith said.

"I think getting a bunch of cadets in has decreased our average age by about 40 years!"

Coleambally RFS captain Mick Breed said Mr Smith had been an integral part of the brigade and was a mentor to not only local firefighters, but firefighters from all around the region.

"He's been a stalwart of the town," Mr Breed said.

"I hate to think how many guys he's trained up... we just wanted to make sure he was appreciated here."