Fifty years of firefighting honoured
BEVAN Moreton was not technically old enough to become a firefighter when he joined the Fire Service in 1970.
In the half a century since, he has responded to major incidents, national emergencies, and local tragedies.
The senior firefighter (68) was honoured with the Double Gold Star at a function on Saturday night to mark his 50 years of service.
He was three months shy of his 18th birthday when he applied to become a Dunedin firefighter. At that time, 18 was the minimum age to join the Fire Service, but the chief fire officer at the time decided to let it slide.
Mr Moreton never thought he would still be in the role five decades later.
Over that time, he has attended too many major fires to count.
He also remembered being in the control room as the Erebus disaster was unfolding, and being on call in case the plane returned and had to land at Dunedin Airport.
Then there was the tragic drowning of three siblings in a car driven by their father.
The man was intoxicated and drove his car off the road and into an estuary near Cherry Farm.
The man survived, but the three children did not.
Mr Moreton was pragmatic about the award for his long tenure.
‘‘It’s just one of those things that happens when you hang around long enough.’’
Phil Marsh (53) was also acknowledged for his long service on Saturday night, receiving the Gold Star for his 25year tenure.
Mr Marsh joined the Wallacetown Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1995 before moving to Dunedin a year later.
He rose through the ranks to assistant area commander, and has been on secondment for the past five years in a variety of roles, including his current tenure as regional management adviser.
While he had been involved in major incidents such as the Port Hills fires, it was a house fire in South Dunedin that stood out for him.
A fellow firefighter rescued the 86yearold occupant from inside.
The man was not breathing and had no pulse, but ambulance staff were able to revive him.
A couple of months later, firefighters including Mr Marsh went back to install smoke alarms at the man’s rebuilt home.
‘‘He died at 91, so he got an extra five years because of the way Fenz was able to assist him,’’ he said.
‘‘For me, I’ll always remember that.’’