'QUAKE EFFORT RECOGNISED Plus - New Zealand Fire Service

March/April 2013 / Issue 88 

JOB WELL 

DONE 

Plus 

‘QUAKE EFFORT 

RECOGNISED

ThE NEw zEAlAND FIRE SERvICE 

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FRONT COvER 

A bird’s eye view of part of the 

response to a fire in an apartment in 

Auckland’s Commerce Street. 

Photo: Guy Needham Photography. 

2 / Fire+Rescue / March/April 2013 

OUT wITh ThE OlD 

in with the new 

Simpler, shorter, better – the new volunteer 

TAPS (Training and Progression System) 

programmes are now available. 

The new material is concise and easy to follow – covering only what volunteers 

need to know for progressing to Qualified Firefighter, Senior Firefighter and 

Station Officer. 

The programmes cover all learning for pre-course, practical course and 

consolidation activities on station. The biggest changes include new practical 

courses, slimmed-down and updated material, along with two new NZQA 

qualifications. 

The new materials can be ordered from 6 March, with the new practical courses 

starting after 1 July 2013. 

Because the old and new programmes are quite different, volunteers who are on a 

TAPS programme must first finish off their current material and attend a practical 

course by 30 June 2013. Or, you can register for a new programme but you will 

need to start from the beginning. 

Support is provided by the Brigade Training Officer and Volunteer Support 

Officers. The Brigade Training – Reference Guide has also been reviewed to 

support training and learning activities on station. 

Above: The new training modules.

Fire services review 

The Government’s 

consultation with 

stakeholders following 

the Fire Services Review 

is now well underway. 

This review was something that 

has been long-awaited and 

it has made a comprehensive 

examination of the sector. 

We have been saying for some time now 

that a lot of what we do is not covered 

by our legislative mandate and the 

review recommends this be addressed. 

It also proposes changing the way the 

fire services are funded to make it more 

equitable and cut down on the 

opportunities for minimising levy 

payments. It has also made 

recommendations to further encourage 

the amalgamation of rural fire districts. 

I can’t comment too much on the 

content of the review as these are policy 

decisions that will be made by the 

Government. However, I can reassure 

you that NZFS is part of the discussion 

that will inform those decisions. I don’t 

think we can expect major changes 

overnight, as the Minister for Internal 

Affairs Chris Tremain said, “This is an 

evolution not a revolution.” 

EarthquakE 

rEcognition 

In February I attended events held to 

recognise the hard work and 

commitment of personnel during our 

response to the Christchurch 

earthquake. It was a great experience 

being able to thank so many of you in 

person for the outstanding 

professionalism that everyone showed 

during that time. Nearly everyone I 

spoke to had a story to tell, and the 

stories all had one thing in common. 

Despite the pressure, stress and 

sometimes fear that most people were 

experiencing, everyone did their job 

willingly and wanted to do their bit to 

help the people of Christchurch. We 

have all come out the other side 

changed a little by the event. 

As an organisation we have also changed 

and I believe NZFS is stronger as a result. 

Over the next year or so, the lessons 

learned from the earthquake response 

will be embedded in our systems, 

policies, processes, training, leadership 

development and incident management. 

We will be even better prepared for the 

next major disaster. 

We have a programme of work for 

operational improvement and 

professionalism underway. I will keep 

you informed as this work progresses. 

australia dEploymEnt 

In February the National Rural Fire 

Authority deployed 68 rural firefighters 

to Victoria to help fight the bushfires 

in Gippsland. 

A team of 44 were sent initially with 

a further 22 deployed a week later. 

This was NRFA’s second-largest 

deployment of rural firefighters. 

The largest, 109 firefighters, was sent to 

Victoria in 2009. 

The teams were drawn from the 

Department of Conservation and from 

the forestry sector. In January NRFA 

also sent a team to Tasmania to help 

fight bushfires that plagued rural areas 

editorial 

of the state. Operational Efficiency 

Area Management Advisor Jeff Maunder 

is assisting Tasmania fire services 

with the operational review of the 

bushfire response. 

carEEr dEvElopmEnt 

Both the Officer Career Board and the 

Executive Officer Career Board are now 

fully established. These boards provide 

more support and structured guidance 

for people who want to develop their 

career within the Fire Service. In the past 

year or two we have been putting an 

increasing emphasis on succession 

planning – within brigades and within the 

organisation as a whole. Most recently, 

we provided several senior officers with 

an opportunity to observe and learn how 

Australia manages some of its major 

disasters. Staff were sent to the 

operation centres managing the 

emergency response to the New South 

Wales fires and the flooding in 

Queensland. This sort of experience is 

vital in helping people reach their full 

potential. I strongly encourage all staff 

who want to progress through to 

leadership roles to take advantage of the 

support offered by the Career Boards. 

Paul Baxter 

Chief Executive & National Commander 

Fire+Rescue / March/April 2013 / 3

By the book 

“We put the fire out, rescued people who needed rescuing. Job done.” 

Senior Station Officer Sulu Devoe 

sums up the 20 January fire in a 

downtown Auckland apartment 

building that led to the rescue of several 

people in a hectic half hour. 

Sulu remembers having arrived early for 

his Saturday shift, planning to have 

breakfast at the City Station. But within 

minutes, he and his crew were on their way 

to Commerce Street. 

“On the way down Custom Street we could 

see the smoke and by the time we got 

there, there were ‘persons reported’.” 

The two-storey building, with shops on the 

ground floor and apartments on the floor 

above, was almost obscured by the thick 

smoke rolling out of the roof and windows. 

As Officer in Charge, Sulu got straight into 

it. “We could see people on the roof, waving 

to us through the smoke, and people 

hanging out the windows needing to be 

rescued.” 

The Ponsonby appliance had gone around 

the back of the building as per procedure. 

Its crew went up an extension ladder to 

pull two people to safety through an 

apartment window. 

The 33-year-old Aerialscope hydraulic 

elevating platform was used to rescue one 

person from the roof of the building on fire 

and the turntable ladder helped get at 

people who were trapped on an adjacent 

roof. “That will probably be the last rescue 

by the Aerialscope before it’s retired and 

replaced with the new Type 6,” said Sulu. 


Guy NeeDHAM PHOTOGRAPHy

Sulu had a good plan in place, there was a good 

structure, everyone communicated very clearly about 

what needed to be done and then got on and did it.” 

Above: Some of the Auckland Station team from left: Mike Tia, Andrew Horst, 

Oz Van Beerendonk, Russell Kinzett, John Mills, Sulu Devoe, Rob Gunn, Swaz Tengblad. 

Two crews were sent in to fight the fire and 

others were tasked with the search and 

rescue operation. 

“It was difficult to know how many other 

people were still in the building because 

there was no one who could tell us and 

they had no evacuation procedure to 

account for the occupants. So we had to 

make sure all the rooms and the entire fire 

floor were searched and cleared.” 

Not long after the first appliances arrived, 

it looked like one of the people on the roof 

was about to jump. “The people on the road 

were yelling ‘jump, jump’. I had to call up to 

him to ‘hold on we’re coming to get you’. 

In all, 23 appliances attended the incident. 

Sulu said the job went very smoothly. 

“There were a lot of experienced officers 

and firefighters there and that made my 

role a lot easier.” 

Area Manager Kerry Gregory said the 

firefighting and rescues were carried 

out well. “Sulu had a good plan in place, 

there was a good structure, everyone 

communicated very clearly about what 

needed to be done and then got on and 

did it.” 

There were some early concerns that the 

fire might impact on the triathlon event 

that was soon to start in downtown 

Auckland. 

Guy NeeDHAM PHOTOGRAPHy 

“We had (Assistant Area Manager) Roger 

Callister in the triathlon multi-agency 

operation centre in Queen Street and they 

were worried we might hold things up, but 

we kept the organisers in touch and 

managed to avoid causing any disruption.” 

Senior Fire Risk Management Officer Mike 

McEnaney said the fire was deliberately lit 

in an apartment that was being renovated. 

Police are now investigating. Of even more 

concern is that someone had turned off 

the building’s fire alarm system giving the 

occupants no early warning. That, too, 

is being investigated by police. 

Guy NeeDHAM PHOTOGRAPHy 


OvERSEAS DEplOyMENT 

This summer, rural crews from 

around New Zealand leapt at the 

chance to get some Australian bushfire 

fighting experience under their belts. 

Over January, February and early March, 

70 rural firefighters from the Department 

of Conservation and forestry sector were 

deployed to Tasmania and Victoria. 

National Rural Fire Authority Christchurch 

Manager John Barnes said Forestry 

Tasmania went out of their way to look 

after the Kiwi contingent. “They brought 

them brand new gear, put them up in flash 

hotels when they were on rest breaks and 

made sure they were well briefed for their 

work in the field.” 

One of the sector leaders with the 

Tasmania deployment was Dave Newton, 

a team leader with the conservation arm 

of the land and facilities management 

company Nelmac. 

“They have quite different hazards to 

watch out for over there. Apart from the 

snakes, and we didn’t see too many of 

those, the eucalyptus trees can be very 

dangerous. Their trunks are very dry and 

often hollow so they can burn out in the 

middle and topple over. If it’s windy they 

are even more dangerous so no one works 

among the trees on those days.” 

Dave said the Tasmanian fire authorities 

were very well organised and efficient, 

however it took a bit of getting used to 

being known as ‘RATS’ – the local term for 

their Remote Access Teams. He said these 

teams were experienced in firefighting in 

isolated areas within the eucalyptus forest. 


Over in Victoria, Kerry Hilliard was the 

National Rural Fire Authority liaison 

officer. The Kiwis were sent over in two 

deployments, a week apart, to help with 

fires in Gippsland area (east Victoria) 

and the Grampians (western Victoria) 

which burned through hundreds of 

thousands of hectares. It was gruelling 

work to contain them. 

“Everyone worked very long hours, 

travelling 100km or more some days to 

get to the fire line and not getting back 

to their camp until well after 10pm most 

days. It was exhausting work and you can 

see why the Victorians were pleased to 

get some fresh firefighters in from 

New Zealand,” said Kerry. 

Above middle, from left: Dave Newton (Nelmac), 

Matt Page and Bill Franklin (DOC Motueka) take a 

break in the bush near Burnie in northern Tasmania. 

Above: Some of the Northland rural firefighters out 

in the backblocks of Gippsland, Victoria, from left: 

Peter MacManus, Kevin Kraatz, Ryan Banks, 

Nathan Sullivan and Dalton Robinson. Kevin and 

Dalton are Alaskan forestry workers/firefighters 

who were on a working holiday with a Northland 

forestry company when the call for assistance 

came from Australia. They jumped at the chance to 

get some experience in Victoria while they were in 

this part of the world.

CanTerbury earThquake 

reCogniTion awardS 

In appreciation of outstanding service to the people of Canterbury, 22 February 2011

SerViMuS – SerViCe, effiCienCy, reSourCefulneSS, Valour, inTegriTy, MobiliTy, uniTy, STrengTh

1. 

2. 

3. 

ChRISTChURCh EvENT 

CanTerbury earThquake reCogniTion awardS 

Almost 800 people attended 

the recognition event at 

the CSB Arena in Christchurch on 

22 February, the second anniversary 

of the earthquake. 

In all, 177 staff were awarded the 

SERVIMUS dress distinction and a 

further 17 the plain dress distinction. 

Three people were awarded 

Certificates of Appreciation. 

1. Family, friends and staff gather at the CSB 

Arena function centre foyer before heading 

into the main auditorium. 

2. Around 100 children were entertained at the 

arena by the donated services of Annie’s 

Nannies. There were several bouncy castles, 

entertainers and plenty of activities. Here Blair 

and Carla Robertson check up on their children 

before heading into the event. 

3. Almost 200 Canterbury personnel gathered 

on the stage after being presented with their 

awards for a formal photo. 

4. The stage where each person was 

presented with their awards. This included the 

128 people who were nominated by their peers 

for their bravery and leadership. They were 

presented with the Commission Citation for 

Meritorious Service. 

4.

SerViMuS – SerViCe, effiCienCy, reSourCefulneSS, Valour, inTegriTy, MobiliTy, uniTy, STrengTh 

NzFS COMMISSION ChAIR RT. hON. wyATT CREECh 

SpEECh TO CANTERbURy RECOGNITION EvENT 

FRIDAy 22 FEbRUARy 2013 

Everyone in New Zealand at the time will remember where they were two years 

ago when they heard about the terrible earthquake in Christchurch and that 

people had been killed or trapped. 

It may have been the worst of times, 

but it should also be remembered as a 

time when we saw the very best in people. 

Members of the public and emergency 

services personnel reached out to those 

in need with courage, compassion and 

practicality. 

That spirit is something that no 

earthquake can take away. 

It is that spirit we are here to honour and 

celebrate today. 

Unlike the New Zealand Defence Force 

and the Police, the New Zealand Fire 

Service does not have a strong culture of 

acknowledging exceptional acts carried 

out by its people. 

That may be because of the focus on 

team work. Like Paul Baxter and the 

senior leadership team, the Fire Service 

Commission fully supports better 

acknowledgement of those who 

perform beyond what could be 

reasonably expected. 

There could be no actions more worthy of 

this approach than those demonstrated 

by you during the February 22nd 

Christchurch earthquake. 

Comparisons to the Defence Force are 

rather fitting in this context, because in 

the earthquake’s aftermath, parts of 

Christchurch resembled a war zone. 

I know that for many of you, there will be 

scenes you will remember for the rest of 

your lives. 

That is why the Commission is so proud 

and delighted to have the opportunity 

today to present the Certificates of 

Appreciation, dress distinctions and 

Commission Citations that officially 

recognise your professionalism, 

commitment and service to the public. 

This is the first time dress distinctions 

of this type have been awarded by 

the Commission. 

Unlike the military we have had no 

campaign ribbons, until now. 

However, the earthquake response 

was an extraordinary event as was our 

operational response. 

So, we joined with Police, Ambulance 

and Defence to design a suitable dress 

distinction that would mark this 

emergency response. 

The red and black design is of course 

the colours of Canterbury, and the four 

stripes represent the four services. 

Our own touch is the silver frame. 

The dress distinctions were submitted 

and approved by the New Zealand Herald 

of Arms. 

In all, 1,400 Fire Service personnel, 

operational and non-operational, are 

receiving these dress distinction awards 

in acknowledgement of their deployment 

into Christchurch during this emergency 

response. 

Of those, 900 feature the SERVIMUS star 

to indicate their response within the first 

18 hours. 

Today we are also presenting the 

highest award the Commission is able to 

make, the Commission Citation for 

meritorious conduct. 

This award was established in 1977 and 

the first recipients were a Station Officer 

and Fireman-Driver in Christchurch who 

apprehended an armed offender at the 

Sydenham Post Office. 

The award was also made that year to 

an Auckland Divisional Officer and a 

Senior Fireman who entered a flooded 

culvert at Otara in an attempt to rescue 

two children. 

It was last presented last year to the first 

crews who responded to the Onehunga 

gas explosion in June 2011 which killed 

one person and badly injured six others. 

Their quick thinking and courage 

undoubtedly saved lives that day. 

These awards are not made lightly and 

are relatively rare. 

They honour extraordinary behaviour 

in service to the public. 

We are presenting over 120 of these 

citations here in Christchurch today 

for outstanding leadership or bravery. 

Our Minister, Hon Chris Tremain, has 

asked me to express his personal 

appreciation and pass on the following 

message to you: 

I am personally proud and humbled 

by your acts of bravery in the face of 

extreme danger and for the resilience you 

continue to show today. I want to thank you 

all for your enduring spirit and courage. 

To you, the men and women of the Fire 

Service deployed in Christchurch, this is a 

way to say “thank you” not only on behalf 

of the Fire Service Commission, but on 

behalf of all New Zealanders.

1. 

2. 

3. 

DUNEDIN EvENT 


4. 

Over 80 family and 

staff from Region 5 

attended the event at Dunedin’s 

Public Art Gallery on 11 February. 

Of those 23 personnel were 

awarded the Servimus dress 

distinction, 31 the plain 

distinction and one person, 

the Certificate of Appreciation. 

1. From left: Stephen Hill (Region 5), 

SO Ray Adams (Lookout Point), 

Dave King – Telecommunications 

specialist, SO Howard Weir (Willowbank), 

SFF Michael Loo (Lookout Point), 

QFF Isaiah Piho (St Kilda), SFF Barbara 

Olah (Willowbank), Jamie Ramsay 

(VSO East Otago), SO Kate Hill (Dunedin 

City), SO Peter Douglas (St Kilda), 

SFF Peter Leckie (Dunedin City), 

SFF Peter Hessian (Dunedin City), 

SFF Martin Hastie (Roslyn), AAM (Retired) 

Trevor Tilyard, ASO Mark Townsend, 

(Dunedin City), QFF Sean Yeates 

(Willowbank), SFF Mike Harrison (Dunedin 

City), SSO Jason Hill (Dunedin City). 

2. Alexandra Brigade members, from 

left: DCFO Mark Hutton, SO Brendon 

Walker, FF Campbell Wheeler, 

QFF Matt Samuel, QFF Mark Templeton, 

SO John Mawhinney, SO Doug McLellan, 

SO Shane Ryan, QSFF Pete Scarlett, 

CFO Russell Anderson. 

3. Invercargill Brigade members, from 

left: SFF Trent Frew, QFF Riki Kramers, 

SFF Graeme Thomson, SO John Gilder, 

SFF Peter Scarlet, VSO Joe Manihera, 

SFF Nick Barclay, SSO Gordon Rodgers, 

AM Bruce Stubbs, QFF Adrian Clarke, 

SO Aaron Ramsey, SFF Murray 

Milne-Maresca, SO Greg Koppert, 

SFF Daniel Middlemiss 

4. Commission member Angela 

Hauk-Wills and National Commander 

Paul Baxter present dress distinctions 

to staff and volunteers in Dunedin. 

Far left, event organiser Angela Fisher.


pAUl bAxTER 

SpEECh TO CANTERbURy RECOGNITION EvENT 

ChRISTChURCh, 22 FEbRUARy 2013 

E ngā iwi 

E ngā reo 

E ngā karangatanga maha o ngā hau e whā 

Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa 

I’m really privileged to be the National 

Commander of this organisation that I am 

so proud of for what you achieved during 

the response to the earthquakes here two 

years ago today. 

I am also extremely honoured to be here 

today to formally recognise and personally 

thank you for the outstanding contributions 

that each of you made following an event 

that forever changed your lives and our 

country two years ago. 

My two key themes today are about learning 

and celebrating: celebrating what we did well, 

and learning from what we could do better. 

We all know the size and scale of the 

February earthquake was huge. 

It was a direct hit on the city of Christchurch. 

It was the second deadliest natural disaster 

recorded in New Zealand, after the 1931 

Hawkes Bay earthquake, and the fourth 

deadliest disaster of any kind ever recorded 

in New Zealand. 

The size of the quake itself wasn’t that big, 

but its peak acceleration was among the 

greatest ever recorded – which is why there 

was such terrible damage. 

185 people died – and at the time… we 

thought it would be even more. 

The National State of Emergency lasted 

67 days, until 30 April. 

We’re still picking up the pieces from the 

widespread destruction, and will be for 

years to come. 

Not only was it a huge physical event – 

it was a psychological blow to a city slowly 

recovering from the stress of the September 

earthquake. 

The sacrifices you all made and the risks 

some of you took to save others were 

nothing less than… outstanding. 

You went above and beyond what we could 

have expected of you. 

Operational staff in the field showed 

incredible courage and provided outstanding 

service to the people of Canterbury under 

difficult and dangerous conditions. 

Comcen staff continued to take calls during 

significant aftershocks, while sheltering 

under your desks and wondering if their 

building would hold up. 

If you hadn’t taken those risks, I’ve no doubt 

more lives would probably have been lost. 

The individual stories of bravery and 

leadership that we’re here to recognise 

today are simply staggering. 

The fact that none of our people personally 

sustained any major physical injuries was a 

blessing … and a miracle. 

The emotional scars, of course, are a 

different matter. 

I know this took – and may continue to take 

– a huge toll on many of you personally. 

A lot of you were dealing with the shock of 

losing people close to you or damage to 

your homes – but you carried on like the 

true professionals you are, doing the 

absolute best job you could. 

Your families, too, deserve recognition for 

the parts they played. 

You had to leave your families behind to do 

your job – so they had to cope without their 

partners, their mums and their dads at such 

a difficult time. 

That was a big ask and we’re enormously 

grateful to you, the families of our staff, for 

the support you gave that enabled our 

people to help others. 

So it’s important to celebrate success – 

especially when that success is so out of the 

ordinary and above the usual. 

The topic of recognition is one that draws 

many different opinions 

But I think we, as an organisation, need to 

start recognising and celebrating our 

successes more. 

That celebration needs to be appropriate 

and genuine – not flattery, not over-the-top, 

not just rewarding people for doing what 

they should be doing. 

But it is important to give recognition for a 

job well done, when people have done more 

than just what’s expected. 

And that happens a lot in the Fire Service. 

Often it’s hard to single out an individual, 

because so much is about working in teams 

and relies on work mates pulling together. 

But whether it’s acknowledging individuals 

or teams, I want us all to stand proud of our 

achievements. 

Acknowledgement and recognition is 

important not only for the individuals 

concerned, but for their colleagues. 

All too often – and I think this may be even 

more true in New Zealand, where the old 

“tall poppy syndrome” prevails – we only 

talk to people about their performance 

when they get it wrong or they’re not living 

up to expectations. 

Only occasionally do we recognise examples 

of when people get it right. 

There’s a leadership approach that focuses 

on “catching people doing things right” and 

acknowledging them. 

And I’m all for that. 

It is often said in the NZFS that accepting an 

individual award for outstanding operational 

service or bravery is often more dangerous 

than the act required to achieve it. 

I think today marks a change, and that’s 

why I am so glad that all of you are here, 

and have supported this event so well, 

and I thank you for that. 

Today, we recognise those people who – 

in the eyes of their peers – performed at a 

level over and above what would reasonably 

be expected, provided exceptional 

leadership or showed extreme bravery. 

Many of you did and saw shocking things 

that no one should ever have to do or see – 

far worse than anything you would expect 

to encounter, even more than what we see 

and do in the more mainstream incidents 

we attend. 

We can now celebrate these achievements 

and be proud for the outstanding 

achievements and performance of our 

colleagues, partners, dads and mums.

Given the size and scale of this disaster, it 

was inevitable there’d be also opportunities 

for improvement identified across the board 

after the event. 

We shouldn’t feel threatened or deflated 

by that. 

It is only by critically evaluating what went 

well and where there were opportunities for 

improvement that we’ll be able to improve 

and enhance our preparedness for any 

similar events that – unfortunately but 

inevitably – will occur. 

Returning to those of you being honoured 

here today, I want to thank each and every 

one of you personally and genuinely. 

Hailing as I do originally from Hawkes Bay, 

I have a close personal connection with 

earthquakes. 

I think Hawkes Bay provides a positive and 

reassuring example of how a city can rise 

from a devastating event bigger and better 

than ever. 

Napier today is a thriving city worldrenowned 

for the beauty of its Art Deco 

architecture – a legacy of the period when 

most of it was rebuilt. 

I hope those of you who live in Christchurch 

– or love the city like I do – take heart 

from that. 

I have no doubt that like Napier, Christchurch 

rebuilt will one day bloom and flourish – even 

more beautiful than it was before. 

During the emergency, many of you will 

know I was deployed to Christchurch as part 

of the response. 

I saw first hand what needed to be done and 

was incredibly proud of what I saw and heard 

about at the time and what I have been told 

about later by many of you here today. 

I continue to be so. 

My commitment to you is to ensure that we 

learn the important lessons and put in place 

the right resources, leadership, training and 

equipment and support that you need and 

deserve to support you to continue doing 

the very best work you can. 

Congratulations to all of you for your 

well-deserved awards today. 

No reira 

Tena koutou 

Tena koutou 

Tena koutou katoa 

Thank you everybody. 

1. 

2. 

3. 


wEllINGTON EvENT 

The Wellington event, on 20 February at Te Papa Museum of New Zealand, 

was attended by over 200 people. Servimus dress distinctions were awarded 

to 46 people, plain dress distinctions were presented to 72 staff and 15 received 

Certificates of Appreciation. 

1. Technical support for the many computers and communication tools used in Christchurch was vital. 

Wellington NHQ staff provided much of that support. Front Alma Hong. Middle row from left: Stuart 

Waring, Aidan Elliot, Hamish Kent, John Jennings, Andrew Dibble, Chris Juriss. Back row from left: Andrew 

Hansford, Heiko Philippi, Matt Donaldson, Stefan Tiefenbacher. 

2. Some of the Wellington staff who were deployed to Christchurch to crew the hazmat/command unit 

and relieve Christchurch crews, from left: Danny Hayman, Neal Luka, Nick Pyatt, Paul Waite, Steve 

Anderson and Brent Hudson. 

3. Some of the Wellington staff.


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

AUCKlAND EvENT 

The Auckland event was 

held on 13 February at the 

Viaduct Events Centre with 150 staff 

and family attending. 

Servimus dress distinctions were 

presented to 44 personnel, with 

another 44 receiving the plain 

distinction. Six people were presented 

with the Certificate of Appreciation. 

1. Deputy National Commander Paul McGill, 

Commission Member Vicki Caisley and 

MC Stu Rooney officiate at the Auckland event. 

2. The three Fire Communication Centres were 

each presented with a plaque to recognise 

their support for the earthquake response. 

Here Auckland Communciation Centre 

Manager Peter Stevenson (far right) shows 

off the award with Stu Rooney (centre), who 

acted as Master of Ceremonies for the 

Auckland event, and Northcom Operations 

Manager Eric Smith. 

3. Enjoying the afternoon tea are, from left: Roy 

Williams, John Mills and Rob Gunn. 

4. Some of the responders from Hamilton and 

their partners. Left to right: Steve and Vanessa 

Johns, Steve and Margie Culhane, Roy Breeze, 

Jackie Moody and Steve McSweeney, Daryl 

and Toni Trim. 

5. Many of the Region 1 and Region 2 

personnel who attended the Auckland 

Recognition Event to receive their dress 

distinctions and certificates of appreciation. 

6. Some of the USAR team members deployed 

from the upper North Island to Christchurch. 

6.

TO pROTECT 

and serve 

Upper Hutt volunteer 

firefighter Conor Yardley’s 

day job is to protect the life of 

New Zealand’s senior military 

advisor in Afghanistan. 

The Upper Hutt Brigade is used to 

members being deployed overseas. Being 

so close to the Trentham base it has 

several members who work for Defence, 

including three from the bomb squad (1st 

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron). 

Conor was deployed to Kiwi Base in 

September with the final rotation of 

personnel to the New Zealand Provincial 

Reconstruction Team in Bamyan Province. 

Their role is to mentor and train Afghan 

National Security Forces (ANSF), and 

prepare Bamyan for NZDF’s withdrawal 

in April. 

“The people in this area are quite friendly 

and supportive of us. We have been working 

hard with the ANSF to ensure the security 

and stability of Bamyan after we depart. 

We have built some great relationships with 

the locals who are all enthusiastic about the 

future of the province.” 

Conor’s job is to travel with Lieutenant 

Colonel Sholto Stephens, New Zealand’s 

Senior Military Advisor in Bamyan, as he 

meets with local groups and officials. 

“I am his close protection officer, so I help 

keep him safe and organise his meetings.” 

There has been no call on his firefighting 

skills just yet however. “We are up at 2,500 

metres above sea level so there’s not much 

oxygen for a fire to feed off, and it’s so cold 

that the water freezes in the hoses.” 

The closest he got to a call out was when 

fellow soldier and army mechanic George 

Alexander (a volunteer with the Linton 

Army Brigade) went to help out when the 

province’s fire truck got stuck on a hill. “It 

had been sent up by the local Governor to 

water the flowers.” 

The local fire service is run by the Afghan 

National Police and Conor’s role includes 

training those who are part of the 

Governor’s close protection squad. 

The 25 year-old says his deployment 

so far has been pretty quiet. But the Kiwis 

do what they can to spice things up. 

“We’ve been running our own Master 

Chef competition at the base.” 

Like everyone else, he’s looking forward 

to coming home but is proud to have 

been part of the team helping the people 

of Bamyan. 

Top: Lieutenant Conor Yardley in front of Kiwi Base. 

Above: The Bamyan fire appliance in need of a 

helping hand. 


Learning from Australia’s 

A bank of yellow-grey smoke hangs over the dry New South Wales countryside. The aircraft’s 

passenger takes photos and attaches these to the computer file he’s sending to the emergency 

response headquarters. His information will be added to other intel about the fire that has 

scorched hectares of land and now threatens houses. A team of people is working closely 

with other agencies to place firefighting crews where they are most needed, and keep the 

public informed via regular updates to news outlets and social media. As the fire closes in and 

crews move to contain it, computer-generated text messages and voicemail alerts are sent to 

thousands of local residents’ cellphones and landlines. 

a 

group of senior New Zealand Fire 

Service managers was given a 

chance to see firsthand how 

Australia manages large, widespread 

and complex fires when they visited 

local, regional and state incident control 

and operational centres in January. 

These visits were part of their 

professional development through the 

Executive Officer Career Board and 

offered opportunities to gain insights 

that might be useful in New Zealand. 

They have returned impressed by what 

they saw – in particular, the firefighting 

resources available in Australia, the 

innovative use of technology to track 

fires and deploy crews, the level of 

coordination across regional and state 

jurisdictions and the priority placed on 

news and social media to both send and 

receive valuable information. 


Steve Kennedy, Acting Assistant Area 

Manager Christchurch, visited the rural 

fire service operations centre in 

Homebush in Sydney. 

“While we were there they had more than 

170 fires burning, ranging from a few 

square metres to 40,000 hectares,” he 

says. “About 50 of the fires were out of 

control and uncontained. One fire alone 

had 16 aircraft allocated to it – that was 

the scale they were operating at.” 

He says technology was crucial to the 

operation’s success. 

“It was state of the art and you could 

see what was happening and where in 

real time, and how the fire was being 

responded to. You touched a computer 

touch-screen and it would bring up an 

overview of the relevant information 

about the fire, how many people 

were involved, the number of aircraft. 

It even showed you maps overlaid with 

photos taken by aircraft flying over the 

fire zone.” 

Region Management Advisor Ken 

Cooper visited the $2.5 million rural fire 

service headquarters in Sydney, staffed 

by about 400 people working in 

operations, communications, resource 

planning, intelligence and relations. 

“They had excellent technology at their 

fingertips,” says Ken. “Fire analysts 

gathered information from the incident 

ground to accurately predict the fire 

behaviour, sending intelligence back to 

the incident controllers that impacted 

on tactical decision making.” 

What he saw showed him how 

important it was to train staff to take 

part in incident management teams,

firefighting response 

placing the right people in the right roles 

and having a good database of skills and 

individuals to match what would be 

needed down the track. 

Fire Region Manager Ron Devlin, who 

visited state and regional fire operations 

centres in Brisbane with Auckland Area 

Manager Kerry Gregory, says he was taken 

with the streamlined communication and 

decision-making between the many 

agencies involved in managing incidents. 

“There was a very well organised level of 

strategic and tactical coordination across 

the state and an ability to deploy people 

OFFICER CAREER bOARD 

The new Officer Career 

Board is now in place. 

The Board provides Station Officers and 

Senior Station Officers with a structured 

process for developing and reaching their 

career goals. 

Deputy National Commander Paul McGill 

said, like the programme for executive 

officers, the Board will help the 

organisation more effectively identify 

and develop future leaders. 

from other regions as needed. I can see 

real benefits for New Zealand if we can 

build greater contingency around our 

incident management teams.” 

Kerry Gregory says he, too, noted the 

clarity around decision-making and the 

way duplication was avoided. 

“We could see they were very well drilled in 

understanding the role of logistics and 

incident control, and they knew where 

people were at all times and how to deploy 

them,” he says. “We gained useful insights 

into how they operate, and it’s really good to 

see the New Zealand Fire Service investing 

The programme of personal development 

includes advice, feedback and practical 

support and development opportunities. 

This advice and practical support will 

come from a Career Board in each region 

made up of senior managers and advisors. 

Paul said the type of structured support 

and career development provided by a 

career board can be enormously helpful, 

not just professionally, but also personally. 

“Managers and mentors are pretty 

honest when they provide feedback on 

someone’s strengths and weaknesses 

in our leadership. The challenge now is to 

bring those skills back into our work.” 

Deputy National Commander Paul McGill 

says the New Zealand Fire Service is 

committed to improving the way it 

manages major incidents. 

“New Zealand doesn’t have the same level 

of events as Australia so this was a great 

opportunity for officers to gain exposure to 

large incident management teams,” he 

says. “We’ll use the information from these 

visits to inform our plans to upgrade New 

Zealand’s operational centres so we’re 

better able to manage major events.” 

so you need to be open to hearing that. 

But if you’re prepared to put the work in 

and learn new skills, new ways of working 

and how to relate to different types of 

people, then it all pays off. What you learn 

is often very transferrable into your life 

outside the Fire Service.” 

For more information, contact your 

manager or Beth Piggott (Organisational 

Development team) at beth.piggott@fire. 

org.nz. Feedback will be sought from 

those taking part, and from the NZPFU, 

as the programme evolves. 


UIlDING Up ThE bRIGADE CReDIT: LIGHTBOx WWW.LBx.CO.NZ 

An influx of new members got the Johnsonville Brigade thinking about how to get to know each 

other better and do a bit of team building. 

Scottish import Paul Maddison 

took on the task and it has quickly 

grown into a project that includes 

recruitment and fire safety promotion. 

“I started by getting a few guys 

together to do the Sky Tower stair climb 

challenge with the ridiculously high 

target of trying to raise $20,000 in 

donations to Leukaemia and Blood 

Cancer New Zealand,” he said. 

He’s being joined in the stair climb 

by new member Kevin Crume and 

Brett Heyworth. 

Brigade Officer in Charge, Senior Station 

Officer Warren Field said the brigade has 

got in behind the three men and is now 

taking part in the many fundraising 

activities – ranging from quiz nights 

through to posing for photos for the 

brigade calendar and a Fire Service 

themed recipe book. 

Paul said the book and the calendar 

were labour intensive but he’s happy to 

share the know-how and design with 

other brigades – for a reasonable 

donation to Leukaemia and Blood 

Cancer New Zealand. 

He pulled in a range of sponsors to help 

fund the two publications, including 

newly established Wellington company 


Lightbox Photography who produced 

some impressive images. 

The fundraising cookbook and calendar 

are now being sold at the Countdown 

store in the Johnsonville mall. 

Paul said the brigade has also been 

given a free stand in the mall where, 

every three months, they can promote 

the brigade, try to recruit new members 

and talk fire safety with the public. Oh, 

and sell a few cookbooks and calendars. 

Johnsonville Brigade has 12 members 

with an establishment of 20. 

Warren said “We have three operational 

crews but have gone from having a 

waiting list for members a year ago to 

now needing to replace the four people 

who have left recently.” 

The brigade is also keen to build public 

understanding of their local emergency 

services. Paul and his team are now 

planning a public event for the not too 

distant future where Police, Fire and 

Wellington Free Ambulance personnel 

can show their skills, answer questions, 

attract potential recruits, and of course, 

sell a few cookbooks and calendars. 

Top: The calendar cover featuring some of the 

members of the Johnsonville Brigade. 

Above: Paul Maddison. 

CReDIT: LIGHTBOx WWW.LBx.CO.NZ

A couple of minutes with 

Dave_Guard 

Q: 

A: 

Q: 

A: 

Q: 

A: 

Where are you stationed? 

Region 5 Headquarters Dunedin. 

What’s your title? 

Region Manager. 

What’s been your progression 

within the NZFS? 

Commenced in Palmerston North 

1979, promoted to SO in Wanganui 

1986, promoted to SSO Training Wellington 

1989, SSO Operations Wellington 1991, 

promoted to DO Training Wellington 1993, 

promoted to CFO Rotorua 1995, 

promoted to National Training Manager 

1997, promoted to Region Manager 2013. 

Q: Family? 

A: 

I have a wonderful partner Kerry, 

two adult kids of mine (Simon and 

Kathryn), two inherited daughters on 

Kerry’s side (Blaire and Cheyne) and one 

pretty cool grand daughter (Ayla). 

Q: 

A: 

What’s the one thing that 

stands out about the job? 

The amazing career opportunities 

that exist within the one organisation 

and that 34 years on I still enjoy coming to 

work as much as at any time in my career 

(that’s two things, I know). 

Q: 

A: 

If you could make one change to 

the Fire Service what would it be? 

I think we are on the right track, just 

need to properly bed in the change 

that has already, or is about to take place. 

Q: 

A: 

Your most embarrassing 

moment on the job? 

I’m in the job a few weeks, K99 house 

fire and I’m on the standpipe and 

feeder. It’s dark but I spot the hydrant 20 

metres behind us and think, three minutes 

of water in the tank so no mucking around. 

I lift the hydrant cover and oh s**t there 

is no hydrant. Mad panic until Trader 

(Horn that is) puts his hand firmly on my 

shoulder, gets me to calm down and digs 

the sand out of the hydrant pit, “there you 

go son,” he says. Lesson learnt. 

Q: 

A: 

What’s one thing people would 

be surprised to learn about you? 

I am really enjoying, and am excited 

about, my new role back in operations. 

Yep, there is life beyond training. 

Favourite book? 

Shantaram 

Favourite movie? 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 

Favourite TV show? 

Homeland but that’s getting 

naf now 

Favourite music group? 

Eagles 

Favourite sport 

Skiing, look out Central Otago 

Favourite holiday destination? 

Cruising (anywhere) 

If I wasn’t in the 

Fire Service I’d be? 

Overseas 


FRAUD REpORT 

As part of good business practice all government agencies must 

have processes in place to manage any fraudulent behaviour. 

This includes a process for receiving information about possible 

fraud. At the New Zealand Fire Service we have the Fraud Hotline 

(external DDI is 04-439-7865). 

Our compliance is overseen by Internal Audit Manager Caroline 

Steele. If you have any questions about our fraud policy or want 

more information she is happy to talk to you. 

GOT ThE MESSAGE 

If a fire happened in your home – and you didn’t have working smoke 

alarms – could you live with the consequences? Our Facebook page 

has been getting great feedback about the new wave of smoke alarm 

commercials show how a father and daughter try to cope after a fire 

in their home left the little girl badly scarred. 

Some of the comments we received: 

These commercials are so powerful. They’re brilliant. 

I just hope they get the message across. 

This ad is one that certainly slaps you in the face and says 

“Oi, wake up and watch me, I’ve a point to make”. 

Far out that’s a brutal ad. That’ll hit home. 

These ads make me bawl my eyes out. And I made sure to stock 

up on batteries for my smoke alarms. 

Maybe it should be a condition in all insurance policies to have 

smoke alarms (working) installed in houses. 

18-21 March 

NZFS Surf Championships 

Omanu (to be confirmed). 

Registration 18 March, competition 

starts 19 March (swells dependent) 

Contact: Tim Pearce 

tim.pearce@fire.org.nz 

nzfireservicesurfing@gmail.com 

021 599 438 

13 April 

Wellington Poker Champs 2pm 

NZFS Poker Champs 6pm 

Wellington City Station, Squadroom 

Contact: scott.duganzich@fire.org.nz 

For the latest information on Fire Service sports events go to: 

Firenet/Sports/upcomingsportsevents 

19-20 April 

National Firefighter Combat Challenge 

Wellington – Odlins Plaza on the 

Waterfront 

Registration now open at 

www.ufba.org.nz 

Contact: UFBA Events Team on 

04 237 0265 or events@ufba.org.nz 

10-12 May 

Feilding Volunteer Fire Brigade 125th 

Jubilee 

Contact: John Bongenaar 

Feilding Volunteer Fire Brigade 

PO Box 444, Feilding 

06 323 3942, or 021 701 110 

feildingfire125jubilee@gmail.com 

FIRE+RESCUE ONlINE 

Did you know you can read Fire + Rescue online? Just go to 

the website www.fire.org.nz click on Media, then go to Fire and 

Rescue Magazine. The latest issues are posted at the same 

time as they are sent out to the stations. 

If you missed an issue – no problem. They are all available on 

the website. 

14-15 June 

National Basketball Tournament 

Opunake 

Contact: Denise Le Prou 

leprou.family@gmail.com 

26-19 August 

National Trout Fishing Tournament 

Turangi 

Contact: max.carpenter@fire.org.nz 

26-28 October 

Lincoln Fire Brigade 50th Jubilee 

(2013 Labour Weekend) 

Contact: Jeremy Greenwood 

50 years@lincolnfire.org.nz 

Jubilee website: 

www.lincolnfire.org.nz/jubilee.htm

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