Bay Harbour: February 23, 2022

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Bay Harbour News Wednesday February 23 2022 6 NEWS Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Pharmacist drops the mortar and pestle to help fight fires In the second of our series on fire chiefs, reporter Kristie Boland talks to Sumner’s Daryl Sayer WHEN HIS pager activates, Redcliffs residents might catch a glimpse of their local pharmacist Daryl Sayer making the switch from pharmacist to firefighter. Sayer, 53, has spent almost three decades as a member of the Sumner Volunteer Fire Brigade – over half his life. Growing up in the small town of Foxton, he watched family friends be a part of the local fire brigade. “It appealed to me as a good way to become a part of the community you’re in,” Sayer said. He later made the move to the South Island where he studied to become a pharmacist at Otago University. In 1991, Sayer moved to Sumner and shortly after, joined the brigade. He started out learning the ropes and over the years has made his way up the ranks. “I started at the bottom and just expected to be one of the firefighters. I hardly expected to actually move up into leadership positions, it became a natural progression as time went on,” he said. He took a break from the brigade in 1994 and travelled overseas with his wife Catherine. They lived in the United Kingdom for a couple of years while Sayer managed a pharmacy in Kent. When they returned, he resumed his role as a firefighter, then, in 2014, he became the chief fire officer of the Sumner brigade. Being a volunteer firefighter is a very serious job but sometimes, Sayer said, they get to have a good laugh. HELPING OUT: A firefighter for 31 years at the Sumner Volunteer Fire Brigade, as well as a pharmacist, Daryl Sayer feels privileged to serve his community. PHOTOS: STAR MEDIA He recalled being called out to an elderly patient in cardiac arrest. When Sayer and his team arrived, the patient’s wife was administering chest compressions. Sayer asked the woman to stop so he could take over. “I did the usual: ‘Can you hear me?’ and surprisingly he said: ‘Yeah, I can hear you’. I said: ‘Do you have any pain?’ He said: ‘Only where she’s been pushing on my chest’. I count that as a successful medical call, we had a good laugh after that one,” Sayer said. Sayer has been a pharmacist for 32 years, and he and Catherine own Redcliffs Pharmacy. The couple, who have been married for 30 years, have two daughters, Bridget, 24, and Megan, 22. His daughters have followed in their dad’s footsteps and became health professionals – Bridget a radiographer and Megan a pharmacist. Outside of the pharmacy and the fire brigade, Sayer likes to keep fit, walking on the beach and up in the hills. He also enjoys a game of golf on weekends. For Sayer, being a part of the fire brigade is all about the people, both in the brigade itself and in the community. “I’m privileged to be serving with a group of 20 other people here, but it’s also getting out into our community, and it’s the people in our community that come and thank us for what we do. It helps us see we can actually make a difference.” Sumner’s brigade is made up of a collection of people with diverse backgrounds and a range of professions. “Basically they’re all here for the same reason, that is the community, and it’s a great group of people to be working with,” Sayer said. It was the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes that really brought the brigade and the community together. “The earthquakes were a big moment in the life of the brigade and in my life. We encountered things that we’d never encountered before.” Sumner Fire Station faced the challenge of running without power or plumbing until the Defence Force, local tradies and the NZ Fire Service helped to get it back up and running as a standalone base. “It brought the members of the brigade together as a group but also brought the community closer to the brigade as well. They were very supportive of us, they brought us food and offered help, I think it was a big joining together.” Sayer doesn’t have a timeframe on how long he will remain the chief of the Sumner brigade, but said he will know when the time is right to pass on the job. “As long as I’m usefully giving back to this community and to the brigade then I will participate. “If I find that I’m not being useful, I try to get feedback from people and encourage them to let me know where my failings are. It would be nice to think that I can leave when things are still going well,” Sayer said. • Next week: Akaroa’s Mark Thomson
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