Tributes have been paid to firefighter Adrian ‘AJ’ Johnson, who sadly passed away on Wednesday evening.
The much-loved 58-year-old was a serving member of Eastleigh White Watch.
Crew Manager AJ, who lived in Ringwood with his family, was also a highly valued member of Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR), as well as a former firefighter at on-call station Ringwood.
Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin said:
“AJ was a dedicated firefighter and a much-loved friend and colleague to so many people across our Service.
“He was very involved with our Fire Cadets programme at Ringwood and gave up a lot of his time to the young people he helped there.
“AJ will be sadly missed by us all and our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly sad time.”
Group Manager Greg Garrett added:
“AJ was our friend and colleague and was very proud to serve as a firefighter for so many years.
“He was such a lovely guy, who would help anybody. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic he assisted our health colleagues with ambulance driving.
“AJ was a talented musician, playing alongside colleagues for 12 years in a band called Snatch Rescue.”
AJ joined the Service in 1997 and served at Ringwood, Eastleigh, USAR, Cosham, St Mary’s, and the training centre over the years.
AJ passed away at home following a battle with cancer.
