The firefighter
The crash scene was ‘‘black and miserable’’ when Motueka volunteer chief fire officer Mike Riddell arrived. Thomas Armit, 19, had been on his way to work at Talley’s in Port Motueka when his motorcycle collided with a car just before 6am on Monday morning.
Fire crews often get only a scant indication of the circumstances of a crash when they are called out.
Upon arrival Riddell met deputy chief Mike Compton, who was leading the volunteer firefighter crew that had arrived a few minutes before him.
‘‘It was wet, dingy, dark and cold,’’ says Riddell. ‘‘That adds a different perspective to your dealing with the same scenario in daylight. It makes it more gloomy.’’
Eight firefighters assisted ambulance staff for 45 minutes before Armit was confirmed dead. Several knew him personally.
‘‘They still did their utmost to save his life and acted very professionally and did what they were trained to do,’’ Riddell says.
‘‘The looks on their faces was quite sombre once the reality hit that we hadn’t been successful.’’
Riddell says his volunteer crew were ‘‘average community people’’ who wanted to help others and make a difference.
This year they’ve responded to 192 incidents, including fires and false alarms.
But the fatal road accidents remain vivid memories.
There have been 12 deaths on Nelson and Marlborough roads so far this year, compared to nine in 2016 and just one at the same stage of 2015.
‘‘This year has been extremely hard for us,’’ says the 36-year veteran.
‘‘We feel like we’ve had our fair share this year since Christmas.’’
Riddell says having a crash victim die at the scene was the hardest thing to deal with.
‘‘You do your best to change the outcome, but in some cases you can’t. That’s the bit that’s hard on the boys and girls.’’
His firefighters were fully focused on doing their job at the scene, but there was a lasting impact for the 32 members of his crew.
Riddell says there is professional counselling available from the Fire Service.
Plus, they held ‘‘hot debriefs’’ after returning form an accident site, talking through what they had just dealt with over a cup of tea.
‘‘Talking to people about it. That’s how you cope.
‘‘You never get comfortable with it.’’