The juggle of family andduty

The cost of fighting fires is not only financial - for the firefighters it means time away from their families and loved ones.

This has been the case for volunteer firefighter Blake Old as he juggles spending time with his newborn son William and fighting fires caused by a suspected arsonist.

Blake, a firefighter with the Blenheim Volunteer Fire Brigade, says it has been an intense period after being called away from his family to battle three suspicious fires.

‘‘It does get quite difficult when the pager goes off five times a day and you only spend 10 minutes with the kids,’’ he says

‘‘But people don’t call 111 for the sake of it, I just have to get out and do the job.’’

The Old family expanded from four to five members after wife Melanie gave birth to a brother to Amelia, 4, and Emily, 2, on January 12.

However, Blake only got to spend one full day with new son before he was called into action to help fight during the weekend.

A major blaze at Witherlea, Blenheim on Saturday and two fires on Sunday, both of which could be seen from the family’s back fence, forced immediate action from firefighters.

‘‘It’s very intense and it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted. It is a 24/7 role,’’ Blake says.

He has enjoyed 20 hours of sleep since the birth of his son but understood the demands of his position.

His wife Melanie said it was a difficult balancing act when the callouts came as regularly as they had in the past week.

‘‘I don’t like when he goes at dinner time,’’ she says.

‘‘It has its bad days like when he’s been working heaps and has call outs to deal with, but now it’s part of everyday life.’’

Daughters Amelia and Emily have already become used to their dad leaving when the siren sounds, Melanie says.

‘‘They know Daddy’s coming back, but that he’s just going out to help someone,’’ she says.

Another volunteer firefighter’s wife, Tessa Stephens says being left alone at a party or barbecue has become the norm.

It can be worrying not know- ing how the fire is going when husband Craig is out on a job, she says. ’’He just disappears when the pager goes, it is a lot of uncertainty.

‘‘After a while it does just seem to be a normal part of life.’’

PHOTO: DEREK FLYNN/FAIRFAX NZ It has been a busy week for the Old family with both a newborn and multiple fire callouts. Pictured from left are Amelia, 4, Melanie, Emily, 2, newborn William, and Blake.