RNLI Red Bay crew member Gary Fyfe
RNLI Red Bay volunteers have this morning, Friday 9th February, paid tribute to 'one of their own' who sadly passed away on Thursday evening following a road traffic collision in the Kilnadore Road area of Cushendall.
According to the RNLI crew, Gary Fyfe who served with his local lifeboat station for almost 30 years, was 'responsible for saving many lives during his years on the Red Bay lifeboat'.
In a statement, a spokesperson for RNLI Red Bay paid tribute to their much respected crew member, saying:
"We at Red Bay lifeboat station have lost one of our own, with the sudden death of our beloved colleague Gary Fyfe last night.
"Gary was a giant in our lifeboat station, a natural leader who everyone turned to for advice and guidance.
"He signed up to be a lifeboat volunteer on turning 17 years of age and this year would have seen him receive his 30-year service medal for lifesaving. He became a helm on the inshore lifeboat and a Coxswain on our station’s All-Weather lifeboat.
"Gary was responsible for saving many lives during his years on the Red Bay lifeboat. He never sought recognition or praise for his rescues but rather carried his achievements lightly and thought only of others.
"In our small but close community in Cushendall, Gary was an anchor for us all and his loss will be felt far and wide. His life and the selfless way he lived it, touched so many people.
"As we deal with his loss our thoughts are with his wife, Clare and his two beautiful children, Eleanor and Alexander."
Following the collision, police said their enquiries are ongoing, and are appealing to anyone who was travelling in the area at the time of the collision, or who has any CCTV, dash cam or mobile phone footage, to contact them on 101 quoting reference number 1827 of 08/02/24.