Like many retained firefighters, O’Hare has another job that he needed to keep up alongside his firefighting duties.
“I was doing 10-to-12-hour shifts on the A31, then coming home early in the morning and working from 08:00 to 18:00 at my manufacturing job.
“But everyone does it because they love it.”
Watch manager at Fordingbridge Fire Station Shaun Lincoln, 59, said it was the largest fire he had been to in 21 years as a firefighter.
“It was off the scale, very, very tiring. I think adrenaline keeps you going and community spirit,” he said.
“We live in the New Forest, it’s quite personal to us, we wanted to get there and do our bit.”
