Firefighters mark 25 years
They can be whipped away from a family dinner or gathering at any moment.
But for Craig Piner, being a firefighter was about helping people in the community when they needed it most.
This month, Richmond Volunteer
Fire Brigade honoured the bravery and “unwavering dedication” of Piner and fellow firefighter, John Kingsbury, to the community’s safety and well-being - as the pair notched up 25 years as voluntary firefighters each.
Chief fire officer Piner and fire officer Kingsbury had “exemplified courage, resilience, and selflessness through countless emergencies”, the brigade said.
It was during a flood event that Piner had his first introduction to the fire brigade; while at school in Greymouth.
Helping sandbag and clean up from flooding there in September 1988, he “got to meet some really good people and a good organisation”, he said.
Several years later he got a job that allowed him to take time off work to serve with the volunteer fire brigade in Greymouth, and he joined the brigade in Richmond about seven years later.
Piner had since been involved in largescale emergencies including the Pigeon Valley fire and Cyclone Gabrielle, after getting a job as a fire risk management officer at Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz).
These days at Fenz he would quite often be investigating fires that he had attended with the volunteer fire brigade, he said.
It was rewarding to help victims of house fires rebuild their lives, including helping children through the trauma of that, talking through things like how the smoke alarms had worked, Piner said.
He was “still learning” with every job. “The downside is when I have time off work, when the pager goes I’m still back at work helping the community, so to get a break I need to leave town,” he quipped.
Volunteer fightfighters’ families and employers played a big part in them being able to provide the service, Piner said.
It was Kingsbury’s second stint with Richmond fire brigade after leaving for Wellington for work (serving with the Tawa brigade), and going to Canterbury (serving through the Christchurch earthquakes with the Sumner brigade), Piner said.
“He’s got a wealth of knowledge ... so it was really good to be able to celebrate the same milestone with him.”
The Richmond Volunteer Fire Brigade marked Piner and Kingsbury’s 25 years of service with an awards night at Siefried’s Estate Winery - and surprised the pair with a scenic helicopter flight around Māpua and Motueka.
“We would like to express our deepest gratitude and admiration for their tireless efforts and sacrifice,” a brigade spokesperson said.
“We also want to thank their families for their support over the 25 years, they are truly the backbone.”