Selwyn Times: October 14, 2020
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Wednesday <strong>October</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2020</strong> <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
• By Devon Bolger<br />
and Matt Slaughter<br />
THE LEESTON Volunteer Fire<br />
Brigade chief has stepped down<br />
from his role.<br />
Lloyd Clausen, who has been<br />
firefighting at the station for 51<br />
years, and chief for five-anda-half,<br />
will now move into an<br />
operational support role for the<br />
brigade.<br />
He said he still plans on fighting<br />
fires when needed, as well<br />
as being a mentor for fellow<br />
members.<br />
He said his new role will give<br />
him more time to spend with his<br />
family, especially his three grandchildren.<br />
He will also now be able<br />
to focus on his role as a volunteer<br />
at Leeston learners’ pool.<br />
“I’ve got probably more time<br />
with the grandkids actually, to be<br />
fair. So that’s probably a biggie,’’<br />
Clausen said.<br />
“We’ve got a wee learners’<br />
pool out in Leeston. I’ve got four<br />
helpers and we run that over the<br />
summer months.<br />
“It’s so important that kids get<br />
the chance to learn to swim and<br />
get comfortable in the water.”<br />
Clausen will also continue his<br />
administration role organising<br />
property maintenance for St<br />
John facilities in Leeston and<br />
Rolleston.<br />
Clausen began firefighting in<br />
1969 at the age of 15 and worked<br />
his way up the ranks from station<br />
officer, deputy, and then to<br />
chief fire officer.<br />
Some of his most memorable<br />
jobs over the years were a fire at<br />
a Leeston farm on Waitangi Day<br />
1990 that went on for more than<br />
a month. The fire did not spread<br />
to any properties thanks to the<br />
firefighting effort.<br />
He also assisted in Christchurch<br />
after the earthquakes,<br />
driving a tanker around and supplying<br />
water to firefighters.<br />
“We took a lot of chimneys<br />
down and stuff like that, assisted<br />
people were we could.<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Fire chief hands over the reins<br />
Greg<br />
“We had flooding in Leeston in<br />
2013 where we probably responded<br />
to about 80 calls in a 24-hour<br />
period,” he said.<br />
Clausen said his reason for<br />
stepping down was to give other<br />
people in the brigade a chance.<br />
“You like doing the job but<br />
you know its time to step aside<br />
and let the younger guys come<br />
through that’s what it’s all about.<br />
You don’t want the old codgers<br />
running the outfit.<br />
“I’ve been thinking about it for<br />
a while and by the time it came<br />
down to it, it was time.<br />
“It’s about keeping the brigade<br />
CELEBRATION:<br />
Lloyd Clausen<br />
(left) has retired<br />
as chief of<br />
the Leeston<br />
Volunteer Fire<br />
Brigade and has<br />
handed down<br />
the role to Greg<br />
Wheeler. <br />
alive and passing the torch along.<br />
It revitalises the brigade and<br />
gives purpose to the other guys,”<br />
he said<br />
Greg Wheeler, former deputy<br />
chief fire officer, will take over.<br />
Wheeler has 30 years of service<br />
with Fire and Emergency NZ<br />
and Matt Walker who was the<br />
senior station senior officer will<br />
move up to the deputy position.<br />
Said Clausen: “Greg is a really<br />
great organiser with awesome<br />
team management skills. We’re<br />
always improving. when the new<br />
team take over they’ll improve<br />
on the previous team.”<br />
NEWS 7<br />
Wheeler, who began<br />
in his new role last week,<br />
has been in the brigade<br />
for 32 years and was<br />
deputy fire chief before<br />
taking over from Clausen.<br />
He has worked closely<br />
alongside Clausen over<br />
the years and aims to<br />
be as much of a role<br />
model for other brigade<br />
members as he has been.<br />
“It’s really about moving<br />
with our everchanging<br />
service and empowering<br />
guys and girls in our<br />
brigade to take a more<br />
hands-on role.<br />
“What I'm trying to<br />
achieve, I suppose, is to<br />
be quite communityfocused<br />
and be maybe<br />
a wee bit more visual<br />
and engaged in the<br />
community.’’<br />
When he is not<br />
volunteering for the<br />
brigade, Wheeler works<br />
full-time as operations<br />
manager at Think Water<br />
Canterbury, which<br />
provides pump and<br />
irrigation equipment,<br />
installation, servicing and<br />
maintenance.<br />
Wheeler said he would<br />
not be able to do his<br />
role at the fire brigade<br />
if it wasn’t for the<br />
support of his family and<br />
workplace during times<br />
when he is called out to<br />
emergencies.<br />
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