One man’s lifetime of fighting fire

Henrywheeler remembers the fires and crashes he rushed to in his 20s. They’re the same as the ones he still rushes to 50 years later.

A volunteer firefighter with Rongotea’s brigade, Wheeler, 74, earned himself the prestigious double gold star medal for 50 years of service at the Rongotea and Tangimoana volunteer fire brigades’ annual honours night.

‘‘Never in amillion years did I think I would make it to 50 years when I started,’’ Wheeler said.

Called ‘‘HJ’’ by his crew, Wheeler hung around for a few years before officially joining the service in 1970.

Now the granddad of the crew, Wheeler has seen it all.

‘‘[Firefighters] really are at the coalface. The accidents, some of them do stay in your head.

‘‘But the organisation’s changed for the better with regard to equipment and clothing,’’ Wheeler said, remembering his first years as a firefighter.

‘‘Back in my day, whatever you stood up in at the start of the day that’s what you fought fires in.’’

Born and raised a few kilometres away at Glen roua, Wheeler moved up through the ranks to become the brigade’s chief until 2015, when he resigned. He took a step back from the lead role to become a senior firefighter.

‘‘I do enjoy the comradery with the members. I’ve enjoyed my years. I’m still enjoying my years. I still think I can help them.’’

The old dog has kept learning new tricks, keeping up with new processes of Fire and Emergency at the brigade’s fortnightly training sessions on Tuesdays. Climbing the new 7-metre top dog rescue ladder this week, Wheeler scaled a building easily with the brigade’s first metal ladder, a step up from its old wooden ladder.

Firefighter Jono Rowlands said Wheeler’s practical knowledge, combined with his skills from his day job as an engineer, made him an asset to the crew as ¯amentoro and when the brigade faced tricky situations. ‘‘You can go to fireswith him, and he’ll tell you where the fire started and how, just like that.’’

As long as his health is good, Wheeler wants to keep riding fire trucks to emergencies, at least until another of his crew reaches the 50-year mark. That could happen in 2023.

MAXINE JACOBS/STUFF Even with 50 years on the job, Henry Wheeler still trains with his colleagues at the Rongotea Volunteer Fire Brigade. Insert, Wheeler tries out the brigade’s new breathing equipment in the mid-1970s.