Port Hills fire boss in top job

The man who oversaw the battle to contain the Port Hills fires has landed one of the top jobs in the new new amalgamated fire service.

Marlborough rural fire boss Richard McNamara, or Mac, has been named regional manager rural for Region 4, the largest and most geographically diverse of the five regions.

The area encompasses Tasman, Marlborough-Kaikoura, the West Coast, North Canterbury, Christchurch and South Canterbury.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand, which brings together the urban and rural authorities, starts in July.

McNamara would stay in Marlborough but would oversee each of the six districts in his region and liaise with their principal fire officers.

Looking at a South Island map with the top half shaded as his turf, McNamara said he was prepared to take on the challenge.

‘‘It is a big area, but like everything, it comes down to people and we have great people on both the urban and rural side,’’ he said.

‘‘This is the biggest organisational change in New Zealand for many, many years,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s really cool to be a part of it, I want to be on the wave and not swamped in the undertow.’’

McNamara came to Marlborough in 2012 and battled infernos such as the Onamalutu fires of 2015, before leading the attack on the Port Hills blaze, in Christchurch, this year.

Urban and rural crews had been in talks for more than a year on how the merger would work at a regional level.

‘‘On Day 1, the public should not see anything but the exemplary service they get,’’ he said.