A WAREHOUSE worker who refused to give up on his dream of becoming a firefighter underwent surgery to pass his medical test.

Burnham on-call firefighter Dan Ramfry applied for the position in 2017.

He was thrilled when he passed his initial fitness test.

But he was then told he couldn’t go any further due to problems with his hearing.

Dan said: “I was told there was a risk that I could lose my hearing because I had a medical condition in my right ear called cholesteatoma, which had been brought on by repeated middle ear infections.”

He was referred to a specialist and put on a waiting list for an operation.

During the six-month wait, Dan never gave up on getting his dream job.

An operation was needed to remove the infection and to rebuild two of the three smallest bones in his ear which control the hearing.

Dan said: “It felt like the longest wait ever, but in those six months I continued to attend drill nights, keep up my fitness levels and help out at the station where I could.”

Three months later, Dan went for a hearing test and couldn’t believe the results.

“Before the operation my hearing had depleted in the affected ear, but the operation has given me my hearing back and allowed me to pass my firefighter hearing tests,” he said.

“It was the best news I could have asked for, and because I’d kept contact with the station right up until the operation, a little more hard work allowed me to pass all of the remaining tests quickly.

“I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I finally passed all of the tests.

“The support through the whole process from my employer, Nash Tackle, my friends, family and the station has been incredible.

“My advice to anyone that wants to join the service would be to go for it. It’s the best thing I ever done and hopefully I’ll have a very long career protecting and providing a vital service to the community.

“If you’ve got a dream and believe you can do something then go out and get it, and settle for nothing less.”

Since then, Dan passed his final test, allowing him to attend incidents with the Burnham crew.