The Tasmania Fire Service veteran retired on Monday, after responding to more than 4500 callouts - although according to Mark Ciantar, acting district officer of operations at the Launceston Fire Brigade, "he's slept in occasionally so it could have been a little bit higher".

Mr Whittle joined the Tasmania Fire Service in 1984 as a recruit at the Launceston Fire Brigade - following in the footsteps of his father who was working as a superintendent at the station.

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He reflected fondly on the changes he has seen during his career - including formal uniforms, significant technological advances and the lowering frequency of fires due to the increase in fire safety standards.

"I'm a little bit apprehensive, a bit nervous but fulfilling - I think I'm ready to go," he said.

Every day is different on the station - attending structure fires, emergency incidents and more.

One of his most memorable experiences was what he described as "the chicken fire at Underwood".

"I think we lost 8,000 chickens but I did save some, that was pretty interesting," he said.

"It's hard to have good memories from some fires, you have to think of the people who are involved who have lost their belongings or are injured."

With such a long time on the job, Mr Whittle said the crew became like family - and that he will miss that mateship the most, recommending those interested to try out firefighting as a career.

"You come to work to have a bit of banter and you bounce things off each other so you're hopefully not taking things home," he said.

"It's a very fulfilling job, but you have to be prepared for the bad - which in a recruit environment is very hard for that, your first few times you may find it a little bit daunting but it gets better and better, and just to be able to talk to your mates and discuss things and defuse yourself before you knock off.

"It's been very fulfilling for me".

Mr Whittle said he planned on celebrating by "cracking open" a can of Boag's Draught, before turning into a grey nomad, heading north in his caravan with his wife.

"Spend a bit of time on the push bike, a bit of fishing, and hopefully get the golf handicap back down where it should be," he said.

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