Fire fighter humbled by award
Howard Cole isn’t one to boast, but this founding member and Chief Fire Officer of Maramarua Fire Service has earned national recognition for years of dedicated service.
‘‘I don’t know whether I really deserve it,’’ he said.
This Queens Birthday the 49-year-old will be awarded the Queen’s Service Medal to recog- nise his decades of commitment to Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
‘‘I feel quite proud, because someone’s nominated me and I don’t really know who.
While he’s honoured by the award, he believes the medal is a team effort.
‘‘It belongs to the fire brigade, we’re all together up there.
‘‘We all put in the same amount of work, so to be singled out like that it’s quite humbling.’’
Cole and a handful of other members were responsible for the formation of the Maramarua Fire Service back in 1990.
‘‘We were all a group of young guys who put their hands up when the community said we want to keep a fire brigade in the district.’’
In those early years the members of the brigade raised money for the service through fundraising and occasional farm work.
‘‘In the past [the rural fire service] was considered the poor cousins to the New Zealand Fire Service, we were underfunded for what we suppose to be doing.’’
He said the service provides a second family for him and an opportunity to give back to the community.
‘‘I remember one call out that sticks out is helping out with a premature baby... it’s certainly not what we normally do.
‘‘The actions of our crew meant we got the baby to hospital and it lived.’’
He says it couldn’t have been done without the support of his wife, Glenda.
‘‘She’s the one who stayed at home and done the work, milked the cows,’’ he said.