A Mittagong stalwart has been farewelled by family, friends and fellow firefighters.
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Former Mittagong Rural Fire Brigade captain and life member Ian Long died at the age of 80 last week.
Ian Long was a former captain and life member of the Rural Fire Service (RFS), with 40 years of service in the Mittagong brigade as well as countless out-of-area deployments.
According to his colleagues, Ian was always the first to volunteer for a job and the last to leave the fire ground.
In the later part of his career with the RFS, he advocated for women and younger members of the brigade.
Ian was instrumental in the election of Mittagong Rural Fire Brigade's first female deputy captain Kimberley Collante.
Ian's daughter Judy described him as "the best father in the world".
"That's all I can say, he did everything. He never took praises or thank yous," she said.
"His family was everything. He spoilt mum [his wife Val], she won the jackpot when she met dad.
"Mittagong Rural Fire Brigade was like his second family, he thought the world of them."
Ian's wife Val said she would remember "just how great he was".
"He was a loving family man and a beautiful husband," she said.
One of Ian's colleagues, who did not want to be named, described him as a "very quiet achiever who hated being in the limelight".
"He went around helping. His idea was once you did your job, you stepped back in the crowd," he said.
While Ian had a succession of RFS awards, his colleague said the "biggest and best" accolade he received came after he assisted an elderly woman with a fallen tree after a storm.
"After the job, she said 'come and have a cup of tea', he said 'no thanks'. She looked him in the eye and said 'no, you're having a cup of tea'," he said.
"He said that cup of tea was the best he'd received. That's the measure of the man. He wasn't a guy that wanted big awards."
Ian was a father to Maree Mullet and Judy McGlynn and a father-in-law to Chris and Marc.
He has six grandchildren including Chloe, Ben, Jessica, Tayla, Jake and Kayla, and five great grandchildren Harlow, Bentley, Harper, Halle and Evie.
A funeral for Ian will be held at St Stephen's Church in Main Street, Mittagong from 11am on Wednesday, September 25.
There will also be a gathering at Mittagong Rural Fire Brigade Station in Cavendish Street, Mittagong after the service.
Ian's family has requested attending Rural Fire Service members wear their yellow uniforms.
Staff and group officers are asked to wear dress uniforms.
The family has also requested a donation to Mittagong Rural Fire Brigade in lieu of flowers and no photography.