Selwyn Times: October 24, 2017
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12 Tuesday <strong>October</strong> <strong>24</strong> <strong>2017</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
SELWYN TIMES<br />
Our People<br />
Fifty years firefighting service recognised<br />
How do you cope attending<br />
serious accidents and fatals?<br />
We had those three young<br />
people killed just down the road<br />
from us last Christmas. It was in<br />
our patch. We had peer support<br />
people come out and talk to us<br />
to make sure we were all right.<br />
Brigade members talked amongst<br />
themselves which was good. I<br />
think the guys that went to that<br />
call were pretty open about how<br />
they felt. The thing is you don’t<br />
want to hide things because it is<br />
going to bottle up inside you. You<br />
have got to let it out. Generally<br />
the problem being in districts<br />
like Southbridge, Dunsandel and<br />
Leeston is you generally know the<br />
person. I think it is just a matter<br />
of discussing what has happened<br />
and getting someone to come and<br />
talk to you if you need help. The<br />
February 22, 2011, earthquake –<br />
we responded to that very early<br />
on in the piece. Probably within<br />
the first 10 minutes we were<br />
asked to respond. We went into<br />
Sockburn Fire Station. We gathered<br />
there and then they turned<br />
us out to the CTV building<br />
and the PGC building. We did<br />
Colombo St. We saw a lot of dead<br />
people. It wasn’t very nice. That<br />
was probably the worst thing I<br />
have had to do in the whole of my<br />
career.<br />
How long have you been the<br />
chief fire officer for?<br />
Twelve years. I was deputy<br />
chief fire officer about 15 years<br />
before that.<br />
What are the most common<br />
type of incidents you have to<br />
attend to?<br />
Probably scrub fires. People not<br />
taking care, lighting little fires on<br />
a hot day and then ignoring it.<br />
We try to educate these people as<br />
do the local authorities. A lot of<br />
times it is just people who don’t<br />
take care to look after fires. They<br />
have to realise these little fires<br />
turn into big fires. Sometimes<br />
you have to go from three or<br />
four a day and you think God<br />
almighty when is the next one<br />
coming?<br />
Do you have a memorable<br />
moment in the Fire Service that<br />
jumps out at you?<br />
Probably building the new<br />
fire station at Southbridge two<br />
years ago. I was lucky enough<br />
to be chief when that building<br />
started. I have sort of seen it right<br />
through. I was involved with the<br />
planning, involved with the design<br />
work. That was probably the<br />
most rewarding part because we<br />
saw it completed and got a great<br />
building out of it. Our old station<br />
was absolutely buggered. I suppose<br />
you could say the old station<br />
was intimate but the new station<br />
was a lot bigger and glossier.<br />
Tell me about your family?<br />
My wife Carolyn has been behind<br />
me 100 per cent all the way<br />
there. As for my children Simon<br />
and Lisa, I said at the speech the<br />
other night: “you have to excuse<br />
me for not going to all the family<br />
picnics and family days out”. We<br />
did sit round on hot north westerly<br />
days in case the fire alarm<br />
went. My wife has been very<br />
supportive. She would be the first<br />
one out there to help.<br />
Where did you go to school?<br />
I went to Waitaki Boys’ High<br />
School in Oamaru. Got sent away<br />
there. I probably would have<br />
preferred to stay but I was very<br />
big on sport those days. All I did<br />
was play sport mainly. Probably<br />
my academic skills weren’t that<br />
good but sport wasn’t bad. I was<br />
TRAGEDY:<br />
Responding to<br />
the February 22,<br />
2011, earthquake<br />
and a crash<br />
where three<br />
teenagers were<br />
killed near<br />
Southbridge,<br />
are some of<br />
the hardest<br />
incidents Donald<br />
McMillan has<br />
had to respond<br />
to.<br />
in the second 11. I have played<br />
cricket for Ellesmere. Now I look<br />
after Southbridge Park. I do all<br />
the cricket pitches there.<br />
Do you have anything else you<br />
like to do in your spare time?<br />
I just like spending time with<br />
the grandchildren. I have five. I<br />
follow rugby quite a bit. I also like<br />
watching cricket. The Fire Service<br />
is my biggest passion. We will<br />
probably have a bit of a holiday<br />
while up there. Fire Service has<br />
just taken my life I suppose. I said<br />
the other night I have met a lot<br />
of people in those 50 years and it<br />
is just so rewarding. Now every<br />
year you go to a conference and<br />
talk to people you haven’t spoken<br />
to for 12 months.<br />
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