A FAMILY tradition of saving lives at sea stretching back more than 100 years has been extended.

Jodi Fairbairn became the fifth member of her family to pull on the Dunbar RNLI lifeboat crew uniform, having joined up as a probationer at the end of last year.

The former Dunbar Lifeboat Queen has already been called into action, joining her dad Gary, who is the lifeboat coxswain, and her older brother Kieran, who is a crew member.

Her family’s connection to Dunbar lifeboat dates back to the 1900s, when her great-great-great grandfather Walter Fairbairn served as coxswain and was awarded a medal for bravery.

Jodi, an early years support worker, spoke of her pride at joining the crew, having grown up around the lifeboat.

The 17-year-old said: “From a young age, I watched as my dad responded to the pager going off and from my bedroom window I used to see the lifeboat head out on rescues.

“I’ve loved representing the RNLI, from being a flower girl, queen’s attendant and then lifeboat queen.

“Now, it’s exciting to have joined the crew for real.

“It’s a challenge learning all the skills needed to be a lifeboat volunteer but I am enjoying it so far.”

The teenager received her first callout recently with an early-morning search for a potentially missing person.

Fortunately, the individual was found safe but for Gary, 52, it was an early test of his daughter’s character.

He said: “I did have a moment, when I saw her in the wheelhouse, and we still didn’t know what we were going to be facing.

“It could have been a very different outcome and I wondered how she was going to handle it.

“But, as with my son Kieran, I will treat her like any new volunteer.

“I have to pick the crew based on the nature of the callout, the weather and sea conditions and the experience of the crew available.”

Jodi will serve on the Dunbar station’s two lifeboats – the all-weather (ALB) and the D-class inshore (ILB) – the latest in a long and illustrious line of lifesavers.

The Fairbairn name is so synonymous with saving lives at sea in Dunbar that there is a street – Fairbairn Way – in the town named in their honour.

Gary was awarded the bronze medal – and his crew medal certificates – for bravery after the rescue in May 2009 of a couple from their stricken yacht in force 9 winds and 10m waves.

And, in 1905, Walter Fairbairn was awarded the silver medal for helping save the lives of 40 men in a seagoing yacht that had run adrift.

Gary’s dad David also served on the crew in the 1980s.

Jodi said: “I learned about my great-great-great grandfather when I was younger.

“It’s nice to be able to carry on the family tradition.”

The coxswain has another consideration when it comes to keeping safe at sea, with his wife Emma determined that the family don’t end up in harm’s way.

He said: “Emma used to say ‘if anything happens to my boy, don’t bother coming back!’ Now she’s saying it for both Kieran and Jodi.

“I think Emma’s already had enough of all the pagers going off when there’s a shout!

“But, seriously, we are proud and it’s great that Jodi and Kieran have joined the crew – as they are the future.

“I always knew Jodi would want to join as soon as she was old enough because she has always shown an interest in the lifeboat, coming to events with us, wanting to be on the boat.”