On the books, he's been there 42 years, but his career started so long ago that records weren't even kept at the time, so he thinks it may even be longer.

Mr Milgate began his rescue career after seeing a group of State Emergency Service volunteers assisting others during a flood. He went out to help them and was then asked to join.

His career has included 40 straight years as captain of the rescue squad. He was also concurrently in the SES for almost 39 years.

And at 72, Mr Milgate is not even retiring from the Volunteer Rescue Association - he is simply stepping down to the role of vice-captain to "pass the baton" onto someone else.

That someone else is Paul Hampton, who Mr Milgate has been mentoring to prepare him for the role.

Mr Milgate described it as "a relief" to be stepping down, but his wife Kerry believes he will remain just as involved as ever.

"Nothing's changed," she said. "It's what makes him happy."

In the past 40 years, Mr Milgate has just about seen it all.

He's had to cope with changing technology, such as the implementation of airbags in cars and more recently the rise of electric cars.

He has responded to countless motor vehicle accidents to free trapped people as well as major incidents including the Newcastle Earthquake of 1989, the Thredbo landslide of 1997, twice searching for the missing Cessna 210 plane in the Barrington Tops and cleaning up the Newcastle Disease chicken cull on the Central Coast in 1999. He also helped supply more than 3600 meals after severe bushfires in January 1994.

But for Mr Milgate, the little jobs - like rescuing an old lady's cat from a tree - are just as rewarding.

And he said in those unfortunate incidents where someone can't be rescued, he still always felt like he could assist.

"We know maybe we can't help the person, but we know we're helping the family in the background," he said.

"There's that self-satisfaction that we know ourselves we did all that we could. We can't fix broken bones but sometimes we can lessen the impact."

Mr Milgate has based his career on three principles: commitment, dedication and loyalty - attributes which have been recognised with a raft of awards including an Order of Australia Medal, Emergency Services Medal and Cessnock Citizen of the Year. But Kerry said rather than rest on his laurels, every award made her husband work even harder.

"I felt that if I was awarded, then I had to keep going," Mr Milgate said.