A veteran local firefighter who toured Bermuda’s schools every year for Fire Safety Week has been appointed senior fire safety education specialist with the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department.

Arthur Raynor, who closed 31 years’ service for Bermuda’s fire service at the end of 2006, has been hired to teach fire safety at more than 500 schools and colleges across the Atlanta, Georgia area, as well as delivering seminars and counselling to child arsonists.

Mr Raynor said the position seemed “tailor made” for him, with his years of experience with fire prevention classes for adults, as well as puppets and stage shows for schoolchildren.

The firefighter and EMT made a local name for himself after training as a ventriloquist and stage magician to enliven the classes, which became a much-anticipated fixture of the school year.

Atlanta Fire Department operates out of more than 35 stations, with more than 1,000 employees.

Accompanied by his team, Mr Raynor will teach fire safety to businesses, civic groups and the general public as well as in the area’s schools.

He also plans to sit the Juvenile Fire Setters Counsellor Certification Course this year.

“There are three types of people in the world — those that want things to happen, those that make things happen and those that sit around and ask ‘What happened?’” Mr Raynor said. “I like to make things happen, so ‘Never stop learning’ is a motto I live by.”